VIDEO: Chinese worker jumps into blast furnace after losing money in stock market
A videograb shows the man jumping into the furnace.
Local police in China said that a worker at a steel mill committed suicide by jumping into a blast furnace after losing large sums of money on the stock markets.
The clip, taken from a CCTV recording at Baojang Group, a steelmaker in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, showed a worker removing his safety helmet and gloves and placing them on the floor, then hesitating for several minutes before jumping into the furnace containing molten steel.
The clip was widely shared on social media.
According to a statement issued by the company, the worker is called Wang Long, 34-year-old and works in the steel pipe branch of the group.
The officials pointed out that the incident dates back to March 24, when he was on a night shift, according to local media.
The police ruled out murder, and concluded that the cause of death was suicide.
Police report indicate that Wang’s suicide was related to the large amount of losses he incurred in stocks and his inability to repay his debts.
Wang reportedly had debts and loans that he was unable to repay, and he lost more than 60,000 yuan ($ 9,130) in the stock market.
Over the past years, China has witnessed several suicides related to stock market losses.
In April 2020, a 47-year-old man committed suicide by jumping from a tall building in Putian City, Fujian Province.
He lost more than one million yuan (equivalent to 152,000 US dollars) on the stock exchange, the police said in a statement.
