Two 'guardian angel' strangers talk woman out of jumping from overpass in Malaga

Two complete strangers - Sergio Cuberos, 44, and Manuel Rodríguez, 39 - were stopped in their tracks when they saw a woman standing on the edge of an overpass in Malaga, ready to jump into the stream traffic below. The incident happened near the Hospital Clínico on 11 March. The two men, now considered her "guardian angels", talked the woman out of her intentions and continued consoling her even when she was safely sat on the ground.

Sergio was the first one to pay attention to the woman, even though numerous vehicles were passing by her. Hardly had he arrived at the padel club he has been running for a decade, when he noticed a commotion at the roundabout. It was then that he saw the woman on the edge of the bridge, staring at the seven metres gaping between her and the ground. At first, he thought she might be dizzy or disoriented, but quickly realised what her intention was.

While the world seemed to go on as if nothing was happening, Sergio dashed between the cars. "I was thinking that, by the time I got there, someone would have stopped," he said. Although he was more than 500 metres away, nobody went ahead of him. Once he was next to her, he simply talked.

Equipped with knowledge from his police training and personal tragedies, such as the death of his mother and uncle due to illness, he understood the importance of words in a situation like the one presented to him at that moment. Sergio said that he thought of his partner, his mother, his sister and his daughters, while talking to the woman in front of him. He thought of the people who wanted to live but could not.

"I told her that we all go through hard times, but there is always something to hold on to and keep fighting." Not a believer in fate, Sergio considered it a coincidence that he was there, in a moment that made all the difference between life and death. "Oh, little girl!" was the last thing he said to get her attention, when his partner in salvation arrived to pull the woman away from the edge.

Manuel said that he is also experienced in life's challenges. A soldier since he was 18, he has spent half his life working in private security - a profession that has taught him to keep a cool head in extreme situations. The morning of the incident, he was leaving his partner's house to go to the gym. When he realised what was happening, he left his car "in the middle of the motorway" and approached the woman from behind.

Although the two men did not know each other, they understood what was to be done. Manual grabbed the woman from behind, giving her a second chance. "Once on the ground, I tried to reassure her. I told her that I know the type of ugly and scary thoughts that go through your mind when things are tough, but life always goes on and everything can be fixed."

The woman is now in the care of health professionals. Sergio and Manuel are confident that she will recover, hoping that, one day, they will get the chance to hug her. "That would be the greatest gift," they said.

The two men shared their concern regarding the ignorance of the other drivers. "Why didn't anyone else stop to help? We have unfinished business as a society. We need to be more humane," they said.

Both prevented the woman from being another victim in the extensive and silent statistics of people who take their own lives every day.

If you or someone you know experiences anxiety, loneliness, fear, desperation or simply needs to unburden their problems to someone, the Teléfono y al Chat de la Esperanza in Malaga is always open. Helpline: 952 261 500. Chat application (available for Android and iOS): CONECTATE.SOCIAL.

Telephone 024: the Spanish government's free 24-hour 365-day helpline run by the Red Cross. Real time telephone interpreting service for non-Spanish speakers.

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