A man climbed to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge, stripped off his clothes, and jumped more than 200 feet toward the East River.
Somehow, he lived.
The astonishing scene unfolded Sunday afternoon on the Manhattan side of the bridge, where police said the 44-year-old man made his way onto the north tower and displayed multiple flags.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers tried to persuade him to come down. Instead, he jumped.
The on-scene video is difficult to believe. The man can be seen falling toward the river while holding what appears to be a bag or piece of clothing above his head:
That fall should have been fatal.
Police Harbor Unit officers pulled the man from the East River and rushed him to Bellevue Hospital. He was listed in stable condition.
The New York Post identified the jumper as Galymzhan Abaildayev, 44. The paper reported that he climbed the north tower on the Manhattan side, raised several flags — including the flag of Kazakhstan — and removed his clothes before leaping into the water.
Witnesses watched from below as police activity shut down traffic around the famous bridge. Video captured the final seconds before the plunge, but it does not establish whether the item above Abaildayev's head played any role in his survival.
The footage shows the fall and the immediate danger; it does not answer the medical question of how he lived.
After he was rescued and hospitalized, police charged him with reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, public lewdness, disorderly conduct, and making graffiti.
The survival itself is almost impossible to comprehend.
A separate New York Post trauma analysis spoke with Dr. David Shapiro, a trauma surgeon who has treated patients after high falls. He said the man's body position at impact may have been decisive.
A near-vertical entry can reduce the surface area striking the water at once, but Shapiro emphasized that a fall from that height is normally overwhelming. The impact can cause catastrophic injuries to the spine, skull, pelvis, and internal organs even when a victim initially survives.
The surgeon also cautioned that complications can appear later. A stable condition immediately after rescue does not erase the danger posed by internal bleeding or delayed organ damage.
There is no verified evidence that the bag or clothing acted as a working parachute. The combination of his entry angle, the rapid Harbor Unit response, and sheer fortune may be the closest thing to an explanation.
The Brooklyn Bridge has been the setting for dangerous stunts since the 1800s, but surviving a plunge from near the top remains extraordinarily rare. Water struck at that speed can behave more like a solid surface than a soft landing.
Abaildayev now faces criminal charges once his medical condition permits the legal process to move forward.
He jumped from one of America's most famous landmarks, plunged hundreds of feet toward the East River, and came out alive. His survival was extraordinary, but repeating the leap could easily be fatal.
If you or someone you know is in crisis or considering self-harm, call or text 988 in the United States for immediate help.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
The post WATCH: Man Jumps 200 Feet High Off The Brooklyn Bridge…and Somehow Lives! appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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