This is the heartbreaking moment a 2-year-old Vietnamese girl collapsed from a 12th-floor balcony – owned directly by a delivery person hailed as a hero for saving the toddler’s life.
Nguyen Ngoc Manh, 31, was in his vehicle waiting for a delivery at a high-rise complex in Hanoi at 4:30 PM on Sunday when he heard a child crying, UN Express International reported.
At first he thought a baby was having a tantrum, but when he heard people screaming, he rolled down his window and looked up to see the child dangling about 50 meters above the street in horror.
The father of two jumped into action and climbed a 2 meter high wall between him and the building, looking for where the child might land.
“I climbed the wall and saw that it could fall on the metal roof of the house where the electrical generators for the complex were stored, so I tried to climb on it,” he told the news outlet.
“I made it but couldn’t stand firm because the roof was skewed,” Manh added.
He lost his grip and slid to the right as the girl fell, so he threw himself forward and miraculously caught her – the blow left a dent in the roof.
The girl did not cry, but stared at Manh as the blood seeped from her mouth.
‘She was so much like my child at home. I was so confused, I could only tell her, ‘Please, please, I’m here now’ ”, he told VN Express International.
Manh handed the girl over to a guard, who rushed her to a hospital.
“I didn’t think much about it then, but now I’m glad I’m doing something meaningful. After rescuing the girl, I left without leaving a phone number, although the girl’s family contacted me anyway to notify me of the girl’s health, ”said Manh, whose arm muscles in the latches were pulled.
Doctors at National Children’s Hospital said the girl dislocated her hip but suffered no further injuries.
‘It hasn’t just changed – my life has been turned upside down. Normally my Facebook posts only get a few dozen responses, now I get tens of thousands, ”said Manh.
“I don’t see myself as a hero, I just want to do good,” he said, adding that he has declined gift offers for his achievement.
“Some have sent me money through my phone number. This makes me disoriented. I don’t want to receive money that I haven’t earned myself, ”Manh said.