Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This is the moment sparks fly as firefighters cut through metal to free a tot stuck in a malfunctioning lift that shot up as the kid’s mum reversed her e-bike through the doors.
The heart-stopping incident happened inside the Jiangnan New Landmark Residential District in Hefei, capital of East China’s Anhui Province, on 24th September.
CCTV footage from the residential area’s lift shows six adults – including the mother and her 19-month-old son – preparing to exit the car on the ground floor.
As the residents step outside and the mother begins to reverse her electric bike out too, the lift car is called upwards and suddenly begins rising with the metal doors still wide open.
Video Credit: AsiaWire
As the doors close on the surprised mother and then open again, her e-bike is left suspended in the air before she falls backwards out the lift.
However, her toddler, who is still strapped to his baby seat, ends up dangling upside down with his head outside lift and his body still inside when the e-bike is crushed and pinned between the car and the concrete lift shaft.
Footage taken by the Hefei fire service shows rescuers having to calm the mother down while also urgently looking for ways to free the boy.
They use a large pair of pliers as well as an angle grinder to separate the tot’s baby chair from the frame his mum’s bike.
The video later shows him reunited with his relieved mum who is on the verge of tears.
The authorities said the child was not harmed despite the distressing nature of the accident.
Hefei police are investigating the incident and apparent lift malfunction.
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