(Newser)
– Two young brothers were saved from a fire in an apartment in the city of Grenoble, in southeastern France, when they fell about 33 feet from a window and were caught by people below. The two, aged 10 and 3, were unharmed last fall, but could have suffered from smoke inhalation, French media reported. Video of the dramatic rescue showed that the younger brother was thrown from at least three stories up as black smoke rose from the window and flames engulfed an adjacent balcony. While the spectators screamed, the older brother hung himself from the window and dropped into the arms of those below. The children were hospitalized along with 17 residents of the building.
Four of the people who caught the children were also taken to the hospital to check if any bones fractured when they caught the children. Athoumani Walid, a 25-year-old student who suffered a broken wrist while helping to catch the children, says he heard screaming and went out to investigate after seeing the fire in his nearby apartment and rushed to help along with four other o five people. “We didn’t know what to do,” Walid tells the AP. “We wanted to break the door, but it was not possible.” Then they went out and yelled at the children to jump into their arms. Although she initially feared for the children, “when they jumped, the fear disappeared,” says Walid. “What mattered was catching them.”
(Read more stories from France).
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