Wave of strange double suicides sweeps through Kazakhstan

A series of strange suicides has been registered in Kazakhstan lately, Tengrinews.kz reports reports. The suicides seem to be connected: age of the suicides range from 15 to 30, they all jump from high places and in case of double suicides the couples hold hands during the jump. In one of the cases people who knew the jumpers said that they were planing the suicide and were part of an internet community of young suiciders. Although Kazakhstan is ranked high in the world's teenagers suicide rating, double suicides are not common for Kazakhstan and neither are suiciders internet communities. According to the World Health Organization Kazakhstan is ranked third in the world by the number of suicides committed by young people with over 250 cases a year. The number of teenage suiciders has tripped in Kazakhstan over the past decade, bit the recent events stand out even against this sinister background. The first double suicide of this series happened on May 28 when two teenagers jumped off a roof of a 12-storey building in Almaty. According to Almaty Interior Department, Initially their was a report of a girl attempting to jump off the the 16th floor of a building, but when the police arrived to the site, they found the bodies of a boy born in 1995 and a girl born in 1998. “They jumped off the 12-storey building on Aiteke bi Street. The boy’s mother applied to police on May 28 claiming her son was missing. He left home during the day and never came back. He was from Almaty city, and the girl was from Almaty oblast,” the Department’s press-service said. According to the press-service, the bodies were sent to the mortuary for the medicolegal investigation. The investigation is underway. “It is yet unclear whether they jumped themselves; we will investigate into that,” the press-service said. The teenagers jumped off the roof holding hands. The girl's name was Nastya, and the boy’s name was Zhassulan. He studied at School No.28. The school guard said that Zhassulan was a normal teenager from a good family. Nobody ever noticed him in suicidal moods. However, some of his schoolmates secretly confessed that the teenager and his friend were allegedly planning the suicide and were active members of some Internet group of young suiciders. A similar episode happened in the morning of June 11 in Temirtau town in Karaganda oblast. According to Interfax-Kazakhstan, a couple jumped off a window of their fifth floor apartment. The tragedy happened around 5 a.m. The man died right after the fall and his girlfriend died in the intensive care unit of the central hospital one hour later, the police said. “We suppose that they consciously committed the group suicide,” police stated. “They were holding hands during the fall.” The couple was unemployed. The man was 29 and his girlfriend was 28. Police is investigating possible causes of the suicide. Later the same day a young married couple jumped off a fifth floor balcony of a multi-storey building in Aksu. According to the press-service of Pavlodar oblast Interior Department, the 30-y.o. woman was hospitalized with catatrauma, brain injury and brain concussion. The 29-y.o. man was hospitalized with catatrauma, brain injury and displaced Colles fracture. The man died from the injuries. His body has been delivered to the laboratory for medicolegal investigation. The woman's condition is critical; she is at the hospital. Police is now investigating the reasons that made a couple commit the suicide. According to their neighbors, the couple was using poppy seeds. It is yet unclear whether they were under the influence of drugs when their committed the suicide. But it seems likely as poppy seeds were found at the place of their fall. The series has continued today with a suicide of a 15-y.o. girl. It was not a double suicide this time. The school student jumped off a balcony of a 3rd floor apartment in Karaganda, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the press-service of Karaganda oblast Interior Department. The incident happened at 04:00 a.m. on June 12. “A 15-y.o. student of the 9th grade jumped off a balcony of an apartment on the third floor. The tragedy happened in Orbita-1 region,” the message states. The girl was taken to the oblast medical center with nose bone fracture, tailbone fracture, concussion and closed carniocerebral injury. The investigation is underway. The reasons behind the suicide attempt are yet unclear.