Crowd in France catches two kids jumping to escape apartment fire

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two young brothers have been saved from an apartment fire in the French city of Grenoble after dropping about 10 metres from a window before being caught by people in the street below, The Guardian reports.

The pair, aged 10 and three, were unharmed by the fall on Tuesday but might have suffered from smoke inhalation, French media reported.

Video of the dramatic rescue showed the younger brother being dropped from at least three storeys up as black smoke billowed from the window and flames engulfed an adjacent balcony. As onlookers screamed, the older brother then hung from the window and let himself fall into the arms of those below.

The boys were hospitalised along with 17 residents of the building, media reports said. Four of the people who caught the boys also were taken to the hospital to check if any bones were fractured when they caught them.

Athoumani Walid, a 25-year-old student who suffered a broken wrist from helping catch the children, said he heard screams and went out to investigate after seeing the fire from his nearby apartment and rushed to help, along with four or five other people.