Two people commit suicide on İstanbul commuter rail line in two days

İstanbul's Marmaray commuter rail line has witnessed two suicides in the last two days. 

Today’s incident occurred in the Üsküdar station and caused disruptions in train services between between the city’s Asian and European sides. 

Marmaray authorities announced the incident on social media, stating, "Due to a sad incident that occurred at 10:03 at Marmaray Üsküdar station, only a single track is in operation between Sirkeci and Üsküdar, causing delays in Marmaray services." 

Another individual took their own life at Suadiye station the day before, marking yet another "sad incident" according to Marmaray's communication. 

Marmaray has witnessed four suicide attempts since October 2022. The latest incident took place in August when someone narrowly escaped being hit by a train after jumping onto the tracks as the train approached. 

According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), 300 citizens took their own lives in 2022 due to economic hardships. The period from the onset of economic deterioration in 2018 until the end of 2022 witnessed 1,477 suicides attributed to financial difficulties. 

The demographic breakdown of those who took their lives in 2022 reveals that 635 of them were higher education graduates, marking a significant increase of 334.93% compared to 146 in 2002. (VK)