Nursing student jumps from mall's 3rd floor

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A fourth year Nursing student of the St. Therese-MTC Colleges in Iloilo City is now in critical condition after jumping off from the third floor of the Atrium Mall at corner Valeria St. and Bonifacio Drive in this city yesterday.

Police reports stated that 22-year-old Vina Marie del Rosario, of Zone 1, Bo. Obrero, La Paz district of this city, entered the mall as soon as it opened at 9 a.m. It was surmised that del Rosario, who was not on uniform and by her lonesome when the incident happened, proceeded to the mall's 3rd floor.

A cashier and a barber of Shape's Salon, one of the tenants of the mall, narrated to the police that they noticed at the time the victim to be uneasy, and walking back and forth.

A few minutes later, they saw her mounting the steel railing. "They tried to prevent her but it was already too late," said SPO4 Victor Legaspi, investigator of the Iloilo City Police Station 1.

The mall's security guards immediately rushed del Rosario to the nearby Iloilo St. Paul's Hospital.

As of noon yesterday, Legaspi said del Rosario was still in serious condition and remained at the hospital's intensive care unit.

She reportedly incurred serious head injuries. "She had bleeding; blood was oozing from her nose and ears," Legaspi said

For now, it was clear that there was no foul play on the incident, he said although investigators could not yet ascertain other motives of the incident other than pressure from school works.

The other day, del Rosario allegedly went to her mother, a teacher at Jalandoni Elementary School in La Paz, this city, and told her that she was pressured of her research work for her thesis.

Her relatives, who rushed to the hospital immediately after learning of the incident, also claimed they saw no other reason for the victim to take her own life.

Police could not still dig up further on the events surrounding the incident because the victim's mother was still in shock. (FREEMAN)