This week’s news out of London was heartbreaking. Watching Grenfell Tower, a 27-story apartment building, being consumed in flames was almost beyond comprehension. At least 17 fatalities are confirmed, with many more expected. Multiple media outlets reported that sprinklers and fire alarms were either not installed or not functional in the building.
Amid the enormity of this tragedy, stories of heroism began to emerge. Miraculously, one man was able to catch a baby dropped from the tenth floor. As reported by the UK Daily Mail,
A baby was dropped from the tenth floor of a blazing tower block and was caught by a man who ran forward from crowds underneath to grab it into his arms.
The miracle rescue occurred as Grenfell Tower was engulfed by flames in a fire thought to have been caused by a fridge exploding which has claimed the lives of at least 12 people.
Samira Lamrani said she saw a woman try to save a baby by dropping it from a window ‘on the ninth or 10th floor’ to waiting members of the public below.
She said: ‘People were starting to appear at the windows, frantically banging and screaming.
‘The windows were slightly ajar, a woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch her baby.
‘Somebody did, a gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby.’
An astonishing act of heroism in the middle of a horrible scene.
She added: ‘I could see people from all angles, banging and screaming for help.
‘Us members of the public were reassuring them, telling them we’ve done what we can and that we’ve phoned 999, but obviously the look on their face was death.
‘My daughter’s friend said she observed an adult who made some sort of homemade parachute and tried to lower himself out of the window.
‘The more I looked up, floor upon floor. Endless numbers of people.
‘Mainly the kids, because obviously their voices, with their high pitched voices – that will remain with me for a long time.
‘I could hear them screaming for their lives.’
Baby is "Miraculously" Caught After Being Thrown Out of 10th floor Window of the Burning #GrenfellTower #LondonFire pic.twitter.com/HqHd7zjNr3
— Marietta (@MariettaDaviz) June 14, 2017
This was not the only child dropped from the tower as the inferno spread. The Daily Mail reports:
Another resident, called Zara, said she saw a woman throw her son, who was about five years old, from a fifth or sixth floor window to escape the blaze.
She told LBC: ‘One woman actually threw her son out of the window. I think he’s OK.
‘I think he might have just had some broken bones and bruises.
The sheer enormity of this tragedy and the heroism of ordinary people jumping in to help is almost too much to comprehend.
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