Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office reported Friday that the Erdogan used his celebrated negotiation skills to talk a man off a bridge who was planning to jump off and commit suicide.
Reports indicate that the man was on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge, which links Europe with Asia, contemplating jumping off when Erdogan's motorcade was passing by following Friday prayers, according to SFGate.
Television footage of the incident showed the man being escorted to Erdogan's vehicle after notifying him that the Turkish wished to talk to him. The two talked through Erdogan's window as the president had a cellphone pressed against his ear. Sometime later, the man kissed the president's hand, and he was escorted off the bridge to safety.
Turkey's state new agency, Dogan news agency, reports that police had been trying to talk the man out of committing suicide for nearly two hours before Erdogan happened to arrive, AFP reported.
The man, later identified as Vezir Cakras, had been fighting depression because of family issues, the agency said.
The details of the conversation have not been revealed, but an official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Erdogan had promised to help him, according to BBC News.
