OBJECTIVE: Study of incidence of suicidal behaviours on the underground railway of Calcutta city, India.
DESIGN: A 10 year prospective study was done to collect all the notified cases of suicidal attempt on the metro rails. Attempted cases were interviewed either directly or over telephone to elicit the causes behind the attempts.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 22 attempted and 13 successful cases were collected. The different dimensions of suicidal behaviours of the connected cases were studied.
RESULTS: Jumping in front of the approaching train was the most common (44.5%) mode of suicidal behaviour noted in the series. Psychiatric illness as a comorbid factor was present among 15% of the successful and 40% of the attempted cases.
CONCLUSION: This first report of metro rail casualty from Asian countries shows that the underground rail way is a new addition to the lethal means of suicides in the advanced urban ecology.