Footage has emerged of the heart-stopping moment a quick-thinking mum caught her son from falling off a fourth-floor balcony.
The video, captured on CCTV in the reception area of a construction company, shows the mum and toddler walk out of a lift with a delivery man before pausing on the balcony as the mother takes a phone call.
The toddler then crouches down to peer through the balcony railings. However, he loses his balance and topples forward, falling through the gap in the railings.
Amazingly, the mum leaps forward and manages to catch her son by the ankle, as the delivery man rushes down the stairs to help from the other side.
You can watch the dramatic moment here:
Employees from the construction company also rush to help the mum and toddler.
The incident occurred earlier this week in the Laureles Colonial building in Medellin, Colombia, according to El Espectador, via the Mirror. It’s currently unclear whether the boy or mother sustained any injuries from the incident.
The CCTV footage was shared on social media, where many people praised the mother’s quick actions, though some argued she should not have been distracted by talking on the phone. Others, however, were quick to point out the obvious safety hazard of the railings which are clearly big enough for a toddler to fall through.
Another said:
That’s a violation though they have to have glass or bars beneath the actual handrail for situations like that. Momma should sue, she’d get a whole lotta money!
While one person blamed the mum, saying:
Face fully in the phone
Another said:
I raised my 3 kids before cell phones. I can tell you that accidents happened even way back then despite not having cell phones to distract us! Give that poor woman a break!
While you can’t expect a mum to never take a phone call, her reactions have to be applauded – and those railings need to be checked too.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.