Man risks own life to save toddler hanging from eighth floor window

The video capturing the stunning rescue showed the three-year-old, reported to be alone at the house at the time of the incident, hanging by a window ledge.

Just a floor below her house, the man who has been identified as Shontakbaev Sabit is seen stepping out of his window and attempting to reach out to her.

The entire rescue, spanning at least a minute, showed the toddler holding on for life as Mr Sabit climbed outside, stood on the window, and urged her to let go.

Visuals showed him mildly tugging at her right leg since the distance between the windows is near about three feet.

In a dramatic move, the girl let go off her grip as Mr Sabit caught her in one swift motion — the man finding his balance before passing on the child inside the room to someone’s waiting hands.

The incident took place in the country’s capital Nur-Sultan on Wednesday.

Locals in the vicinity had alerted the emergency services before the man started the rescue but it appeared that officials would not have reached in time to save her life.

Kazakhstan’s ministry of emergency situations has named the man a hero and awarded him a medal for the speedy rescue which helped save the toddler’s life.

"On 11th May at 10.21am, a message was received that a child was hanging from a window on Uly Dala Street 27/1 on the eighth floor,” the ministry said in a statement.

"Subdivisions of the Department of Emergency Situations of the city of Nur-Sultan, consisting of seven personnel and two vehicles, were promptly sent to the scene,” the statement added.

By the time of arrival, the ministry said it was established that “a man had saved the child dangling from the window on the eighth floor."

"No one was with the girl, born in 2019. Fortunately, our hero Shontakbaev Sabit, born in 1985, seeing the hanging, crying child, without hesitation and risking his own life, took emergency action and literally caught and saved the little girl’s life in a matter of seconds," the ministry said.

Cautioning parents against leaving their children unsupervised, the ministry said: "Dear parents, this was a happy occasion when the child was rescued safely, but there are many other incidents with a tragic outcome.”

"Never leave children unsupervised by adults! Do not leave windows open if there is a small child at home, because you could be distracted for a second, and this could end your child’s life or disable them forever," the ministry said.