Shocking Video Shows Child Being Thrown from Window to Escape Raging Apartment Fire

A group of bystanders used a mattress to save a young child thrown from the window of a 16-story high-rise in Almaty, Kazakhstan to escape a raging fire this week.

Video footage showed a woman hanging the child out of a sixth-floor window as black smoke billows in the background. Rescuers successfully catch the child with a mattress before the woman climbs out of the window herself and free falls into the same mattress.

The woman and child were rushed to firefighters for further treatment. At least one other occupant was also saved after they jumped from a window into blankets held up by rescuers.

An estimated 31 people, including 16 children, were sent to the hospital, but remarkably, as of 6:30 p.m. local time, no deaths have been reported, according to local outlet rus.azattyq.org. Up to 300 people were evacuated from the apartment building.

Rescuers eventually set up fire ladders to rescue stranded occupants. Initial reports suggested the fire may have originated from electrical cables in the elevator shaft between the fifth and sixth floors.

The video prompted discussions on social media about the need for fire exits and other safety measures in the country.