A Bangladeshi in Ajman, the UAE, was recognised by local authorities for his exemplary bravery when he heroically saved the life of a three-year-old boy.
Bangladesh citizen Farouk Islam Nour Al Haq—a 57 year-old welder—was awarded, on Tuesday by Ajman Civil Defence, for his role in rescuing a boy who had been thrown from the second-floor balcony of a burning apartment, reports local daily Khaleej Times.
As witnesses stared at the burning building, Farouk, without hesitation, ran to the right spot and stretched out his arms to catch the boy. The boy’s mother threw him off the balcony to save him from being suffocated by heavy smoke.
"Something in my mind urged me to stand beneath the window where the woman was screaming. There was a massive crowd of people watching her but no one thought of rescuing her. Something urged me to take an initiative to save that woman and her child," Farouk told the UAE newspaper.
He was on his way to meet a friend who worked at a grocery store beside the building when he heard the woman's desperate calls for help, in Hindi. He looked up and saw the mother holding her child by a big window.
"I looked at her and she looked at me. I opened my arms and then she released the child who landed safely in my arms. I was momentarily so shocked that I could not believe that the child had been saved until I heard the crowd chanting 'thank God' and their loud applause," he said.
"I felt relieved and grateful. It felt as if I have done something right with my life."
When a massive fire engulfed the three-storey apartment building in Nuaimiah, on Saturday, night, thick, black smoke rapidly filled the apartment. The mother could find no way out except through the window.
Mohammed Saqib, the child’s father, was at work when the incident happened and received a frantic call from his wife. She was worried about their son who was already starting to suffocate, he said.
"My wife, Rubeena, said she could not go through the doors and she would not survive the heavy smoke. I told her to relax and think of a way to save herself and the child," he said.
After making sure her child was safe, Rubeena jumped out of the window and landed on a car parked near the building. She sustained serious injuries and is currently being treated at the intensive care unit of the Khalifa Hospital.
"I dropped everything and ran to my car to get home as quickly as possible," Mohammed said.
"When I reached our place, my wife was already at the hospital and my son was with people. I felt relieved when I saw that my son had been saved. The people told me about the man who saved my son. I thank God and thank him for the great deed that he has done for my family."
The fire was found to have been caused by electric short circuits in the machines located in the corridor, which led to a rapid diffusion of thick smoke throughout the building.
