Photographer inadvertently captures horror plunge

A newspaper photographer has inadvertently captured the harrowing moment two young people jumped off a bridge.

The photographer had been taking pictures of the fog which shrouded the bridge over the Wuhan Yangtze River in the Hubei province in China.

He did not realise he had taken a picture of the man jumping, and then accidentally snapped the woman jumping before calling the police.

It is not known why the two jumped and police are yet to discover their bodies, but admit the chances of survival are very low.

The harrowing moment a young man jumped off the bridge. Photo: Reuters/China Daily

At the scene of the accident the couple left only two black jackets, one handbag, one bottle of water and a lighter.

“The mist was so thick on the bridge so large that it looked as if the bridge was standing on and disappeared into air. Like a bridge into nothingness,” said the photographer, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“To be honest I didn't even see the first person jump because I was concentrating so much on the camera settings and I didn't realise at first that I had snapped the man jumping.

“It was only then after snapping the photograph that I heard someone shout that somebody had jumped. I heard him hit the water below and then seconds later a woman climbed onto the bridge and jumped as well.

“I was totally paralysed - there was no way I could get anywhere near her, I still had my hand on the camera and I tensed and shot off another few frames entirely by accident - but ended up photographing the woman as well.”