Dramatic video shows toddler falling from 6th-floor balcony, saved by crowd with blanket
A 3-year-old boy was saved after falling from a sixth-floor balcony in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Monday. A group of people below caught his fall with a blanket, avoiding any injuries.
The dramatic rescue was caught on camera by a neighbor. The toddler is seen dangling off the balcony, trying to climb back up while slipping after a few tries.
People at the scene quickly gathered down below, collectively extending blankets awaiting for the fall. Seconds later, the boy plunged toward the ground and fell straight into the blanket.
"I looked up and saw a little child dangling up there. My first reaction was to find something to catch him. I thought about rushing over there and catch him with my bare hands, but that would not have worked," said Zhu Yanhui, an employee of a local property management company, according to China state broadcaster CCTV.
"Zhu Yanhui and a sanitation worker rushed to grab blankets while I was calling for an ambulance. The whole thing happened in less than two minutes," said Feng Ming, a mother who spoke to the Chongqing Evening Paper. "Watching the boy hanging there, I immediately burst into tears, thinking we must catch him, no room for error. My heart was hanging there with him, feeling like my own child."
Fortunately, the boy landed safely on the blanket and he was then taken to the hospital. According to police, he was left alone at his home while his grandmother went out for groceries.
