Boy falls from 10th-floor apartment, saved from certain death by neighbor’s lucky catch (VIDEO)

A small boy in Kazakhstan fell from the window of his 10th-floor apartment, but was saved from certain death by a neighbor one floor down, who got out his window in time to snatch the boy mid-air.

The dramatic near-tragedy happened in the Kazakhstan capital Astana on Monday, and was filmed by a person in a nearby building. The video, first published on Instagram, shows a small figure dangling from a window, apparently trying and failing to get back inside. A few people are seen down on the ground holding some fabric in an apparent bid to break his fall in the event that the child lost his grip.

Less than a minute later, a man shows up below, and seconds after that, the child falls as somebody is heard screaming. Luckily, against all odds, the man grabs the boy mid-air and drags him to safety.

Local media identified the rescuer as Artyom Karev. He said at first he didn’t realize that he had saved a life while risking his own.

“Later my family said it was really dangerous. That a person catching somebody like that may be dragged out and fall too. I only thought then what else can I do, I can’t just leave him like that,” he told Kazakh news website New Times.

According to Artyom, the seven-year old told him he wanted to go out for a walk. But after he dressed himself, he discovered that his parents had locked the door when they left him unattended. So he thought he would try to somehow leave through a window.

The person who suffered most in the incident was the boy’s mother, who required medical assistance after learning that her child had almost died.

Meanwhile, the municipal authorities decided Artyom should be rewarded for his actions and offered him a prize of around $1,400 on Wednesday. He told KazInform news agency that he didn’t really need the money. He said he was considering giving it to some charitable cause, like sponsoring families with children, who want but cannot afford to put heavy-duty grids on their windows to prevent tragic incidents like the one he helped to avoid.

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