A man climbed atop the multi-storyed library building of Utkal University here on Friday and threatened to commit suicide by jumping off it. However fire service personnel after a nerve-wracking three hours managed to bring him down safely.
The man, who was said to be a retrenched employee of the Department of Posts, was spotted on the roof of the 60-ft-high Parija Library by students around 10.30 am. When the students begged him to get down he paid little heed to their pleas.
Subsequently, the fire service was informed. As he threatened to jump off if anybody came near him, a drone was used to monitor his mental condition.
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Firefighters with the help of two Bronto skylifts went close to his position and repeatedly tried to persuade him to come down, but he refused to cooperate. Nets were kept ready on the ground to save him if he jumped.
“The roof of the library building has a slope. Had we used force, anything could have happened. The man had positioned himself precariously to keep rescuers at bay,” said Sukant Sethi, Chief Fire Service officer.
The firefighters also brought in a psychiatrist, who was taken near the man with the help of a skylift. He tried to counsel him from the hydraulic platform but it did not help. During these anxious hours, he was offered a job by fire fighters who posed as government officers but he refused to budge.
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As local news channels telecast the incident live, his family members from far-off Kendrapara district requested one of the relatives to reach the spot. The relative tried to reason with him from the skylift.
Observing that the man of unsound mind was in no mood to come down and only threatening to jump off, firefighters climbed up the library building and surrounded him from all sides. He was then caught hold of and brought down on the skylift. Seven officers and 50 firefighters actively participated in the rescue operation.