A teenager who leapt from the Golden Gate Bridge as a stunt during a school trip to San Francisco has survived with only minor injuries.
The 220-foot (67m) fall is estimated to kill at least 98 per cent of those who jump from the iconic structure, which has become notorious as the world’s most popular place to commit suicide.
According to a surfer who was paddling in the San Francisco Bay, the 17-year-old fell feet first and showed no sign of panic or flailing as he reached speeds of almost 80mph before entering the water and being helped to shore.
“I looked at him, eye to eye, not a bruise, not anything,” Larry Young told a local television station. “He said: ‘I did it for fun’.”
The student, who was admitted to hospital with bruising and tenderness, reportedly told paramedics that he was a recreational bridge jumper who had attempted similar stunts in the past.
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A spokesman for Windsor High School in Sonoma County, northern California, confirmed that the boy had jumped yesterday morning while 45 students and two teachers were on the bridge.
A classmate said he had been talking about leaping from the bridge during the journey but friends had assumed he was joking.
Kylee Calvert, a student on the trip, said no one had dared him to jump. “We would never encourage that,” she said. “We were all devastated, we thought he was dead.”
“He had stepped over the side and was standing on the little platform, and [friends] grabbed his arm and said don’t do it and stuff, and he looked down at the water, and looked back at them, and smiled and jumped off.”
Since the bridge was opened in 1937, almost 1,500 people are believed to have committed suicide. Most suffer massive internal bleeding, broken bones and skull fractures. Local authorities have approved measures to install a safety net but construction work is yet to begin.
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California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Rardin said it was common to encounter serious injuries in the Bay. “The majority of folks do not survive this type of fall,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”