Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images
The body was found on Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, and photographed in May 2022.
CNN
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British police have launched a search after two suitcases containing human bones were discovered on Clifton Suspension Bridge in the southwestern English city of Bristol.
Avon and Somerset Police said on Thursday they received a report of a man carrying a suitcase “acting suspiciously” on the bridge at 11.57pm local time yesterday. When officers arrived at the scene the man had disappeared, but they found two suitcases containing bodies, police added.
Police have yet to identify the man or those killed, but initial investigations suggest he had travelled to the bridge by taxi. A massive search, involving a police helicopter and the coastguard, lasted for several hours but failed to find him, police said. statement.
Detectives have since released a photo of a man they want to speak to in connection with the investigation: “He is described as a black male with a beard, wearing a black Adidas baseball cap, black jeans, a black jacket, black trainers with white platform soles and was carrying a black backpack,” Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement. statement.
Police could not confirm whether the remains belonged to multiple people and said an autopsy would be carried out on Thursday, according to Britain’s PA media outlet.
Police said they were “not aware of any risk to the public at this time” and that they were conducting highly visible patrols in the area.
“Our immediate priority is to locate the man who carried the suitcase to the bridge, identify the deceased and inform their next of kin,” police said.
The visitor centre at Clifton Suspension Bridge was closed on Thursday due to police activity, the PA news agency reported.
Local councillor Carla Denier said she was “deeply saddened by the horrific incident” of human remains being found on the bridge. “Such tragic events are disturbing for all of us who call Bristol home and are proud of our city,” the Green Party councillor for Bristol Central said on X.