Former honey queen becomes lifesaver: courageous effort on the bridge!

Former honey queen becomes lifesaver: courageous effort on the bridge!

In a moving incident in Munich, courage and empathy confronted a desperate act: Katharina Gegg, the former Bavarian Honey Queen, became a lifesaver. One evening shortly before Easter, she discovered a young man who was standing with one leg over the railing of the Westpark Bridge and was about to fall into the depths. Thanks to her quick and courageous actions, she was able to pull him back to safety. The 20-year-old was very drunk and felt abandoned, which led him to take this tragic step. While he cried, Gegg sat next to him and opened a dialogue to support him in this difficult hour. Her action was noticed by passers-by, who alerted the police and a friend of the man. Fortunately, the rescued man was taken to a clinic for further observation, his life was saved, and the police praised Gegg's prompt reaction.

In an interview, the 31-year-old industrial engineer reflected on the incident and admitted that she herself was frustrated that day and took a walk to find distraction. “I just wanted to think,” she said. At the end of the day she received a small recognition in the form of a book about the history of the Munich police and also a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Despite the praise, she modestly rejected the attention and emphasized the social commitment she got from her parents.

The importance of support in crisis situations

The incident surrounding Katharina Gegg highlights the essential role of crisis intervention and suicide prevention in our society. The Diaconia is actively committed to supporting people in life crises. Offers such as psychiatric crisis services and telephone pastoral care, which are available around the clock, offer valuable help. People in crisis should not hesitate to accept support. Telephone pastoral care can be reached on 0800 111 0 111, 0800 111 0 222 and 116123 and aims to strengthen people who feel their dignity has been compromised.

The open ear and compassion shown by Katharina Gegg are particularly crucial. The dividing line between psychosocial and psychiatric emergencies is often narrow, and crisis intervention may be necessary to avert acute stress. Loud health.gv.at Crisis intervention can take a few weeks to months to complete and is based on providing immediate support. The goals include relieving stressful symptoms and developing coping strategies.

A call for prevention

Given current events, it is clear that it is of utmost importance to speak openly about such issues and support preventive measures. Diakonie not only calls for suicide prevention measures to be anchored in law, but also for clear rules on assisted suicide and access to qualified advice for all those affected. A broad understanding and dissemination of information about offers of help can make a decisive contribution to saving lives in crisis situations.