British MP David Ruffley survives after being run over by train

By The Survivors Club Staff
June 21st, 2010

David Ruffley was standing at Victoria Station in London when he suddenly jumped towards an oncoming train, according to the Gaea Times. Ruffley, a British member of Parliament, somehow missed the train completely.

Ruffley landed on the rails and the train passed over him. When it stopped and slowly backed up, Ruffley was unscathed. “One minute he was standing on the platform and then jumped in front of a train… he missed death by a few inches and landed just away from the live electric trail,” one witness told the newspaper.

Emergency workers rushed to the scene and managed to haul Ruffley back onto the platform. He was taken to the hospital and treated for minor cuts and bruises.

The British Transport Police decided that the fall wasn’t an accident. One source said that the jump seemed to be a “half-hearted” attempt at suicide.

In the United States, more than 33,000 people commit suicide each year and it is the fourth highest cause of the death for adults aged 18 to 65, states the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

The World Health Organization has estimated that, each year, one million people worldwide die from suicide and the rate has risen by 60% in the last half-century.

Experts say that primary symptoms of suicide are similar to those of depression – insomnia or oversleeping, loss of interest in activities, constant crying or feelings of worthlessness.

The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention is an organization founded in order to provide people contemplating suicide with a community resource, hotlines and warning signs.