A Dali man is dead after jumping from the top of an electricity pole at the Shuinian Lu Bridge along the First Ring Road.
Spectators reported seeing the man procure his identification card from his wallet, scratch out his name, and then tear it into two pieces.
The man climbed nearly 20 meters to the top of the pole just after 10 a.m. Tuesday and sat there for hours as it started raining while spectators, firefighters, and emergency personnel tried to persuade him to climb down.
A 38-year-old traffic warden named Zhu Yan was particularly active in calling out to the man, yelling for over an hour.
A power surge burned a hole in the man's shirt and sent a shock through his body, leaving him bent over the pole. Power to five nearby streets was subsequently turned off.
The man jumped at 1:25 p.m., after rescue workers began ascending in a cherry picker.
He was brought to a hospital, where he underwent tests that revealed he suffered cracks at the base of his skull as well as cranial internal bleeding. He died at 3:37 p.m.
The man was later identified as a 35-year-old Yunnan native named Zhou Zhengdong. The incident is under investigation.