Japanese engineer commits suicide over mishap on Turkish bridge

ALTINOVA – Doğan News Agency

A Japanese engineer working on a bridge connecting İzmit and Yalova on the edge of the Marmara Sea has committed suicide after holding himself responsible for a rope that broke on the construction project.

Kishi Ryoichi, 51, was found by schoolchildren on March 23 at the entrance to the Altınova District cemetery in Yalova with cuts to his wrist and throat, according to District Gov. Nurullah Kaya. According to a note that was left at the scene, Ryoichi said he held himself responsible for the severing of the rope and had consequently decided to take his own life.

The rope on the section of the bridge called the Catwalk ruptured on March 21.

Ryoichi’s body has been sent to Yalova State Hospital for an autopsy amid a continuing investigation.

The three-kilometer bridge, which is being built for a cost of $1 billion, is projected to be the longest suspension bridge in the world.

It will cut the 70-minute drive around the gulf to only six minutes and is part of a large highway project that will link industrial Istanbul to İzmir, another industrial hub, as well as many Aegean tourism destinations.