Video shows dramatic rescue of 4-year-old boy from 5th floor in southern Taiwan

影片顯示南台灣垂掛五樓的四歲男孩被即刻救援

4-year-old boy left at home alone dangled through gap in burglar bars on balcony before being rescued in the nick of time


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A four-year-old boy, who had been left to fend for himself at home alone, was rescued after he dangled through security bars from a fifth story balcony in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung City on Saturday (June 23).

On Saturday morning, the parents of a four-year-old boy left him alone in their fifth story apartment building in Pingtung City. Unaccompanied by adults, the child climbed out onto the balcony and his legs accidentally slipped through the 10-20 cm gap between the security bars. However, his head became caught in the gap, preventing him from immediately plummeting to his death, reported TVBS.

At 11:18 a.m., neighbors reported someone shouting that there was the little boy dangling precariously from the fifth floor balcony. As he was rapidly becoming exhausted trying to cling to the bars with is arms, neighbors quickly gathered a tarp from a car to try to act as a safety net.

At 11:29 a.m., firefighters and police arrived on the scene and deployed a ladder truck. As rescuers were unable to enter the fifth floor apartment because it was barricaded, they entered from the sixth floor instead and rappelled down to the fifth floor balcony, where they plucked the boy to safety at 11:45 a.m.

Despite the nearly half-hour ordeal, a physician found that the boy only suffered minor injuries to his head and ears.

The parents claimed that they had left the child with an "aunt," however when the boy awoke the aunt was nowhere to be found and it was then that he decided to play on the balcony. Police said that the parents had violated the Children and Juvenile Welfare and Protection Act by leaving a child under the age of six unaccompanied by an adult and could face a fine of between NT$3,000 (US$98) to NT$15,000 (US$490) and a minimum of four hours of parental education training, reported Liberty Times.