A helper's attempt to keep a distraught 19-year-old youth from committing suicide cost the man his own life, after he fell from the 14th floor of a University of Hawaii dormitory.

The victim, aged 24, had tried to pull the youngster from a ledge onto which he had climbed early Sunday, authorities told the Associated Press. Both men ended up falling to the ground and were critically injured; they were taken to a hospital, where the older man was pronounced dead.

The 19 year old, meanwhile, remained in critical condition on Monday, police said. Neither of the two attended the University of Hawaii; rather, they were both on campus as guests of a student, according to school spokesman Dan Meisenzahl.

"It's a terrible tragedy, the last thing we want to happen," Meisenzahl told the Daily Mail. "Of course, our condolences go out to their friends and family."

Counselors were on the scene and would be providing assistance to anyone who needed it, the spokesman added.

Sunday's incident occurred around 2 a.m. during a party at the university's campus in Manoa, a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii News Now detailed. The flagship campus is largely a commuter school without much of a fraternity scene, but about 4,000 of the institution's 18,000 students live in university housing, Meisenzahl explained, according to the Daily Mail.

During the school year, Hale Wainani -- the dormitory where the accident took place -- accommodates more than 600 students, but those arriving for the upcoming semester are not scheduled to move in until Tuesday and Friday. On Monday afternoon, the scene was dominated by maintenance workers and cleaning staff getting ready for students to arrive, the Associated Press noted.

"The guy who tried to save the other one was a pretty brave dude," an unidentified 19-year-old University of Hawaii sophomore told the Honolulu Star Advertiser. "I got to give him a lot of credit because I don't think many people would do that."

Meanwhile, the identity of the 24-year-old man may not be released until the Medical Examiner's Office completes its investigations, which could take several days, the agency told the newspaper.