Turkish man recalls moment he dropped baby nephew 40ft
London, Feb 7 : A Turkish man has spoken of the dramatic moment when he had to drop his baby nephew 40ft from a window of a blazing building to escape fire.
Kamil Kaplan has spoken about the ‘life or death’ decision he took to save the baby named Onur.
After seeing a policeman with his arms outstretched and holding his jacket like a safety net, the 32-year-old thought that it was the eight-month-old baby’s only chance to live.
He grabbed the boy, kissed him and let him fall in the waiting arms of the cop.
“It was the toughest moment of my life. I saw it as his last chance to live,” the Sun quoted Kaplan, as saying.
“I saw the cop below with his arms outstretched, holding his jacket like a safety net.
“I looked in his eyes and he looked at me as if to say, ‘Go for it’. I kissed Onur one last time. Then I let him fall,” he added.
Kaplan and his daughter managed to escape the burning building by a ladder.
Sadly, Kaplan’s mother, two female cousins and two-year-old brother died in the building in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
They were among nine Turkish immigrants who perished in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Another uncle was looking after the boy while his parents recovered in hospital from the suspected-arson attack.
Newspapers named the policeman who caught Onur as Hakki Paker, also a Turkish immigrant. He has been off work since with trauma.
“I can only thank the policeman who saved Onur for the rest of my life,” Kaplan said. (ANI)