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A Brazilian migrant is being hailed as a hero after he risked his life to rescue a child dangling from the second-storey balcony of a building in Spain.
Felipe David Souza was walking past the neighbourhood in the coastal city of Alicante, when he heard a cry for help, as several passersby gathered under a building, frantically pointing to a boy who had his whole body and one leg outside the window in a block of flats.
A 1.52 minute-long video of the incident showed the boy stuck outside his home’s balconey, seemingly frozen in fear.
Mr Souza was seen climbing out of the balcony of another house on the same floor and inching closer calmly along the narrow parapet to reach the boy. He was able to gently push the six-year-old inside the balcony to safety, before jumping inside himself.
“I did it without thinking,” he was quoted as saying by the Guardian. “I was staring at the child to keep him calm, willing him not to move,” he said. “It’s a short distance but it felt so long.”
“I’m really happy that the child is safe,” he shared, adding that the family of the boy thanked him. The child had managed to slip out of the window, when the parents dozed off, reported the Guardian.
Describing the incident, the owner of a nearby cafe said the neighbours had begun putting cushions out on the street, in case the child fell, when they saw Mr Souza appearing out of nowhere to rescue him.
“We all had our hearts in our throats,” Ines Su, told the outlet. The crowd burst into applause once the boy and Mr Souza were both safely inside.
In recognition of his “heroic” action, the Alicante City Council has decided to award him in a ceremony in November, reported TodoAlicante.
“You risked your life to save that of the minor,” councillor Julio Calero reportedly told him.
