Girl killed by suicide jumper

A seven-year-old South Korean girl was killed instantly after being struck by the body of a man as he plunged from his tenth-floor apartment in an apparent suicide, a report said Thursday.

The 40-year-old man jumped from the flat in the southern port of Busan on Wednesday evening and hit the daughter of his neighbour who was emerging from the apartment building, SBS TV station said.

The man, identified by his surname, Jang, died immediately. The girl, who was with her father, was taken to hospital but pronounced dead soon after arrival.

Jang had long been treated for mental illness and depression before the accident, SBS quoted an area police official as saying.

South Korea has the highest suicide rate among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, with an average of 33.5 people per 100,000 taking their lives in 2010.

The figure equates to nearly 50 suicides a day.