A metro station manager twice grabbed hold of a suicidal man yesterday morning, preventing him jumping on to the tracks.

The drama began about 5:40am when duty manager Li Yebin saw a man trying to bring a bicycle into Line 3's Changjiang Road S. Station.

"I noticed the man from the very beginning," said Li, who persuaded the man to leave the bicycle outside.

However, concerns about the man's behavior heightened when he dumped his luggage with the bike before entering the station.

Li followed him to the platform where the man sat on the ground. "He looked very depressed," said Li.

Suddenly, the man rushed toward the track on the elevated station but Li grabbed him around the waist and alerted security guards.

Before the back-up came, the man broke loose and tried to jump again.

Reacting quickly, Li caught hold of the man again and talked to him in a bid to keep him calm, Metro staff said.

Police soon arrived and took away the man, who comes from Hubei Province.

He told police he had been looking without success for a job in the city and "regretted his behavior."

Li played down his actions. "Anyone would have done the same thing," he said.