Toddler falls from 5th floor window in China, caught midair by sharp-eyed neighbours

China Daily/Asia News Network and AsiaOne
May 17, 2018

A toddler in Shandong, China, was saved from plunging to his death on May 14 by two men and his sharp-eyed neighbours.

The boy was reported to have accidentally locked his grandmother out of the bedroom after she went to get a drink in the living room.

As he panicked, the two-and-a-half-year-old climbed out the window of his fifth-storey home.

Luckily, he was spotted by his neighbours.

Hearing cries and shouts outside, 28-year-old former soldier Liu Yangming and his father rushed out of their home.

They found the boy dangling from the air conditioning unit beneath the window.

Liu rushed into the building and knocked the door of residents, hoping to enter one of the flats to help the child whose life was in danger.

The men were let into the unit of a resident who lived on the second floor.

Liu then climbed over the window and stood on the narrow, short cement board protruding below it, to prepare to catch the boy.

As the boy fell, Liu's father failed to grasp him.

Fortunately, Liu managed to grab one of the boy's legs before he hit the ground and quickly pulled him to safety.

All this happened in the span of a few seconds.

Once the boy was rescued, passersby who had gathered at the scene let out a collective sigh of relief.

After a video clip of the rescue was posted online, Liu won praise for his heroic action from his neighbourhood and many Chinese netizens.