An 80-year-old man jumped to his death on Tuesday at the Van Stadens River Bridge near Port Elizabeth, making this its 69th suicide victim, Eastern Cape police said.

"This is the 69th person to jump off the bridge which is notorious for suicides," said Superintendent Priscilla Naidu.

"The man jumped to his death this morning... his body was retrieved by members of the police search and rescue unit and by Thornhill police members."

She said that his name could not be released as the family did not want any exposure surrounding the incident.

Naidu also said that people were still managing to jump from the bridge despite a number of safety precautions that had been put into place as the suicides increased over the years.

Sapa