Advertisement

Terrifying: Woman leaps from burning building and survives

Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones - [email protected]
Terrifying: Woman leaps from burning building and survives
The woman leapt from her third floor apartment. Screen grab: Galiciaé Xornal Galego/YouTube

A woman in the northwestern region of Galicia had a lucky escape when she was forced to jump out of her third-floor flat and was caught by neighbours holding a sheet below.

Advertisement

The 47-year-old Brazilian woman decided there was no other option but to jump out of the window after a fire broke out in her building at around 10am on Saturday in the town of Cedeira, in Galicia.

Emergency services said that a fire affected the fuse box located in the entrance and while the fire was relatively small and contained in the lower level of the building, thick smoke rose up through every floor.

The woman, who was dressed only in her underwear, jumped out of the third floor window before emergency services arrived on the scene to put out the fire.

Several inhabitants of the building, including the woman’s own husband, were waiting below holding a sheet, which ripped on impact but broke the woman’s fall sufficiently that she walked away with "only minor injuries". 

"Half of her body was hanging out of the window and then the smoke covered her so you barely see a thing," taxi driver Atonio Rey, who witnessed the event, told regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia.

"Her husband had gone out to walk the dogs and when he returned and saw everything that was going on he said that she was still inside sleeping," said Francisco Bellas, fireman and grandson of one of the residents of the building.

"The flat must have been full of smoke because she was choking at the window," Bellas told La Voz de Galicia. "She had left the door to the flat partly open." 

Antonio Rey was one of those holding a sheet to catch the woman.

"It definitely cushioned her fall, but it wasn’t enough and she still hit the ground," he said.

Emergency services praised the neighbours but advised people against repeating the woman’s actions and instead recommended they wait for the fire brigade to arrive on the scene.

"The correct action is to close the front door, go to a room with a window onto the street to breathe air from outside and also close the door to the room. If it is possible, place a damp towel or cloth under the door," they advised. 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also