Student from a school in Cúcuta would have launched himself from a pedestrian bridge

The students of the Mercedes Ábrego Technical Institute in the city of Cúcuta (Norte de Santander) and the people who were walking through the school zone, lived minutes of anguish on the afternoon of this Wednesday, April 20, after a 15-year-old girl, allegedly, had launched herself from a pedestrian bridge located on avenue The Liberators.

The events took place around 12:40 noon when the students of the educational institution were about to leave the premises, after the end of their academic day. According to the first versions, the young woman, who is in tenth grade, climbed the bridge and dropped her bag and then jumped into the void.

The minor, who was identified as Nicolle Patiño, suffered serious head injuries after the fall, so she was rushed to the Erasmo Meoz University Hospital . “It is serious; it looked bad, but it was not convenient to move it,” one of the witnesses of the events told Semana magazine.

After the regrettable event, a second hypothesis of the fall of the young woman began to be filmed among the community. According to an audio that circulates on social networks, where the mother of a student at that school allegedly speaks, the girl under the age of 15 would not have tried to commit suicide, but would have fallen off the bridge in the middle of a game with her classmates.

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The Metropolitan Police of Cúcuta is following up on the case, while the Mercedes Ábrego school has not yet commented on it. The authorities also called on parents to maintain a dialogue with their children and take care of their mental health.

“A moment ago I saw the most terrifying thing in my life, an image that I will never forget, I haven't stopped crying... The message is that we must take care of the children, take them and bring them from school, even if they say that it is overprotection,” one of the citizens who witnessed the events told the magazine Semana.

RCN Radio unofficially learned that, given the seriousness of the injuries suffered by the tenth grader, at this time she remains intubated and under a reserved prognosis, while doctors manage to stabilize her state of health.

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If it were confirmed that the incident was a suicide attempt, this would be added to the cases in which several young people have taken their lives in recent months in Cucuta. One of the last cases recorded occurred on the morning of November 19, 2021, when a child under 16 was found dead by his parents inside his room.

According to the newspaper La Opinión, the events took place in the Comuneros neighborhood, inside a family home located on avenue 1 between 12th and 13th streets, where the young man took his own life by hanging himself inside his room.

Seconds later, according to the relative's account, the minor's parents went to his room to check if he had actually left to encounter the tragic scene. A few minutes later they called the authorities, who confirmed the death of the 16-year-old boy.

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