Saint Petersburg:
A man in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg climbed one of its lifting bridges before evading police by plunging into the water, in a death-defying stunt that stopped traffic, officials said Monday.
Police in the city said they have launched a probe as photos of the unidentified daredevil, holding a red flare and hanging from the top of the bridge as it swung upwards, went viral on the internet.
The man, photographed from the ground, apparently sneaked behind the fence of the picturesque Troitsky (Trinity) bridge in central Saint Petersburg just before it was scheduled to open, and clung on to the railing on the edge.
In the pictures posted on Facebook by photographer Nikolai Gontar, the person holds on to the railing with only one hand and waves a red flare in the other as the bridge is nearly vertical.
Authorities had to close the bridge and security raced to catch the man, but he jumped into Neva river and swam away, Gontar said.
"He jumped into the water and swam to the shore, chased by five people in civilian clothing and two security guards. But a motorcycle saved him and he sped away wearing nothing but his underwear," Gontar wrote on Facebook.
He identified the culprit as a young stuntman who goes by the name of Mustang Wanted and is known for hanging off skyscrapers and cranes by his bare hands.
The Troitsky bridge was the location of a previous stunt, when the renegade art group Voina adorned it with a giant penis drawing, which rose as the bridge opened to face the local headquarters of the federal security service.
Saint Petersburg's bridges are usually opened at night through the summer to allow for ship navigation on the Neva.