Shocking footage of a man and a woman catching a three-year-old girl who fell from an apartment building in China has gone viral.
In the CCTV footage uploaded to Twitter by China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijiang, a man who was on his phone and a woman who was with him were seen rushing to the front of a building after looking up and noticing the child in peril.
The man briefly slipped as he tried to gain his footing in front of the building and then managed to successfully catch the little girl in his arms.
"Heroes among us," Lijiang tweeted along with the video.
\u201cHeroes among us.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
The clip ended before revealing the window from where the baby fell, which was reportedly on the sixth floor of the building.
The toddler was released from Tongxiang Second People’s Hospital after being treated on Friday.
The man said he heard a loud bang coming from the top of the building that prompted him to look upward and see the girl tumbling from the window.
He called himself lucky for being at the right place and time, but locals called him a "hero" on Weibo–the Chinese social media platform.
Twitter users also praised the man, as well as the woman in the video, for their heroism.
\u201c@zlj517 OMG as a mom of a two year old girl you sir are that babies guardian angel \ud83d\ude07\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 Only God grace \u2764\ufe0f\nAt the same time he sent his hero.\nThanks \ud83d\udc4d\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 Omg my heart....Angels are everywhere. Thank God, I hope the baby is okay. The baby hit the edges of the building. He or she is alive. This got me emotional. \ud83d\ude22\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\ude07\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 What a total miracle. Thank God for this good and alert man.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 Thank God for this man and woman for saving this child.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 God is every where and he has send angels to save thenlittle angel. What a saving of life. Both persons should be given the best honour ofnthe country of good civilian. \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 What a timing... Child is really lucky... These 2 are the angles of the kid's life...\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
Because the viral video did not show the complete trajectory of the fall, some were skeptical.
\u201c@zlj517 The velocity looks a little off. Also he seems to dive at first to save the baby and then is relieved, was there something that slowed the fall down? There's more to this, 6 story falls aren't quite catchable, the velocity would be extreme.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 While l love this video, I'm having a problem with the footage. The first camera angle shows the rate of acceleration a toddler would experience from such a height, but if you watch that up to the point where they edit in the second angle, the toddler's velocity has slowed.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@CaliforniaMike3 @zlj517 Even i suspect it. The child seem to have come down from not more than 6 to 10 ft height.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
As it turns out, a YouTube clip posted by South China Morning Post revealed the girl had fallen onto a storefront awning–essentially breaking her fall–before she slid off of it and landed safely in the man's arms.
This would explain the amount of time the man had to get into position to catch the girl after seeing her falling.
Nevertheless, the child would have suffered major injury or not have survived at all had it not been for the good Samaritans' quick response.
\u201c@zlj517 True Presence of mind n heroic action in cathing the girl n save from falling on pavement\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 He was talking on phone and he threw it and just caught the baby. Amazing presence of mind and style. It's nearly impossible to do this. He is real life hero, not reel life.\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
\u201c@zlj517 Outstanding , sometimes we do the right thing just because it's the right thing to do , thank you for stepping up it says a lot about your character\u201d— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a) 1658501266
While it is unclear how the child found herself on the other side of the window, the incident also served as an important reminder for parents to install child safety features in their homes.
In the United States, accidental injury is the leading cause of death in children and young adults. Per the CDC, about 12,000 children and young adults ages 1 to 19 die from accidental injuries annually.
