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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Susie Beever

Harrowing 999 call audio of brave girl, 5, saying her mum 'got sick and isn't breathing'

This is the moment a brave five-year-old calmly tells a 999 dispatcher the "Mummy isn't breathing".

Zaynab Qasim sprung into action when mum Samina Iqbal fell unconscious at their home in Romford, east London, giving operators all the right details in order to potentially save her life.

London Ambulance Service has released the clip of the youngster's conversation with the dispatcher as it was revealed she has since been handed a certificate for her courage.

The call was made in June last year after Zaynab's mum collapsed after picking her up from school, with the now six-year-old able to calmly give their address and the right location markers to help paramedics find them in time.

When asked her age, she sweetly replied, "she's a big girl".

Zaynab was reunited with call handler Natasha White after the youngster helped her dispatch an ambulance when her mum collapsed in the car (London Ambulance Service/My London)

A TikTok video of the recording has gone viral on the platform after it was seen by nearly half a million viewers.

In it, Zaynab calmly tells operator Natasha White: "So my mummy picked me up from school. Then we came back home and she got sick."

When asked, "is your mum breathing?" the schoolgirl replies, "no".

She then gives Natasha her address and directs the crew to Romford when asked which part of London they are in.

Dispatcher Natasha tells Zaynab: "I can see on my map there's a church and a fire station. Is it near either of those?"

The youngster replies, "yes, near the fire station" before telling Ms White that she and her mum were in the car outside at the time.

Zaynab pictured with Natasha White, Chief Medical Officer Dr Fenella Wrigley and Director of 999 Operations Stuart Crichton, was given a certificate for her bravery (London Ambulance Service/My London)

Paramedics were able to reach the mum and daughter quickly, as it turned out she had collapsed after suffering a severe migraine.

Zaynab was also reunited with Ms White as the ambulance service handed her a bravery certificate for her quick-thinking on the day.

Zaynab has since said: "I was scared when Mummy fainted."

Samina said: “I’m so proud of Zaynab! She literally helped me in such a stressful situation while staying so calm.”

“I’m so impressed she knew our address by heart.

“We actually never taught her to call 999, but because of an incident that happened to a close family member in the past, Zaynab has always known that in the event of a medical emergency you should call an ambulance.

“I now think all parents should teach their children how to make emergency phone calls.”

Natasha said: “Zaynab did so brilliantly on the call. She managed to stay calm and was able to give me her full address and landmarks which made it easy for the ambulance crew to reach her mum.

“I loved meeting her – call handlers rarely get to meet callers or the patients we help. And this was a very special caller!”

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