A rescue worker disguised himself as a homeless man to save the life of a suicidal student in Chiang Mai on Sunday night.
Withawat Sinworasrithaweekhun, chief of the local rescue team, was told about a man threatening to jump from a bridge over the Chiang Mai-Phrao road in front of Maejo University.
He found the university student sitting on the bridge overlooking traffic below. The young man refused to talk despite police efforts to engage him for an hour.
Mr Withawat had a different idea. After changing into a dirty T-shirt and shorts, he walked barefoot to a rubbish bin near the suicidal man and pretended to search through the contents.
Meanwhile, police kept talking to the young man to distract him. Mr Withawat got close enough to grab him from behind and pull him away from the edge.
Police took the man to Maejo station to calm him down.
"I didn't mean to be a hero, I only wanted to save the young man. I succeeded because the police distracted him and onlookers stayed away to avoid pressuring him," Mr Withawat said.
