| A pair of stealthy motorcycle cops stepped in at the very last moment to save the life of a man who threw himself off Madrid's oldest bridge - the Puente de Segovia - yesterday afternoon.
Spotting the man perched on the outside balustrade facing the water, they crept up behind him and one of the officers just managed to catch hold of the man's arms at the very moment when he let himself fall.
The two officers were then able to haul the jumper to safety so that he could receive the appropriate assistance.
One of the officers pulled a muscle in his shoulder for which he was treated at the scene.
The Puente de Segovia is located near the Viaducto, which used to be a favourite spot for suicide jumpers until José María Álvarez decided to put up protective glass barrier screens.
Built in the mid-sixteenth century by Felipe II's favourite architect Juan de Herrera, the bridge joins the calle Segovia and the Extremadura freeway. It underwent renovation during the 1960s when the M-30 intersection was built. |