after a patient threatened to jump from the emergency department roof.

The young man was reportedly grabbed by hospital staff and a Policeman as he attempted to leap about 25 feet to the ground.

He was led down a ladder and taken inside the hospital, apparently unhurt.

"It was certainly a strange incident -- like something you see in the movies,'' a Bermuda Fire Service spokesman told The Royal Gazette last night.

The alert was sounded shortly after 9 p.m. by alarmed hospital staff.

Six firefighters went to the scene in a rescue tender and a fire truck. Police were also called.

When fire crews arrived, they found an emergency department employee -- watched by anxious colleagues -- trying to persuade the man to come down.

"I don't know why he was on the roof. He wasn't really saying much,'' said the Fire Service spokesman. "Two or three people, including the Policeman, then grabbed him as he appeared to attempt to jump from the roof.

"They hung on to him and then lowered him down a fixed ladder at the side of the building and took him back into the hospital. There was no struggle at all.'' The spokesman reckoned the man -- a Bermudian -- was in his 30s and had been on the roof about 20 minutes.

"He was in normal clothing and I believe he had been admitted to the emergency department, although I don't know why.'' He added: "We were just on standby and left the scene at 9.21 after the man came down.''