A 72-year-old woman is in critical condition, with injuries to her liver, a broken leg and broken ribs after an unidentified man landed on her while jumping from the balcony of a supermarket to commit suicide yesterday morning.

The man jumped from the Hualian Supermarket building near the Xinzhuang Metro Station in Minhang District, and was pronounced dead on the spot.

Police were still trying to identify the man yesterday, as "he was not carrying any identification."

Witnesses said the incident occurred around 11:55 AM when a man leapt off the fourth-floor balcony of the supermarket.

"The man died on the spot but he fell onto an old woman before reaching the ground," said Lu Zhinian, who witnessed the entire incident.

The elderly woman, Gao Yunzhen, underwent surgery late yesterday afternoon at Minhang District Central Hospital, according to doctors.

A hospital official told Shanghai Daily that Gao's liver was ruptured and bleeding when she arrived at the hospital.

(Shanghai Daily March 17, 2005)