Bangladeshi honoured for heroism in UAE
A Bangladeshi in Ajman, UAE, has been honoured by the local authorities for his bravery after he rose to the challenge and saved the life of a three-year-old boy.
Farouk Islam Nour Al Haq, 57, a welder, was awarded on Tuesday by Ajman Civil Defence for his role in rescuing the child, who was thrown off the balcony of a burning apartment, reports local daily Khaleej Times.
When people were staring at the burning building, Farouk ran to the right spot in an instant, stretched out his arms, and caught the boy whose mother had thrown him out off their second-floor flat.
"Something in my mind urged me to stand beneath the window where a woman was screaming. There was a massive crowd of people watching her but no one thought of rescuing her. Something pushed me to save this 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 call for help in Hindi, he looked up and saw the mother standing by a big window, holding her child.
"I looked at her. When she looked at me, I opened my arms and then she released the child who landed in my arms safely. I was in shock. I could not believe that the child had been saved until I heard the applause of the crowd, who were chanting 'thank God'," he said.
"I felt relieved and grateful. It felt like I have done something right in my life."
When a massive fire engulfed the three-storey building in Nuaimiah on Saturday night, thick and black smoke filled the flat in no time. The mother could not find a way out except through the window.
She was worried about their son who had already started to suffocate, said Mohammed Saqib, her husband who was at work when the incident occurred and got a frantic call from his wife.
"My wife Rubeena said she couldn't 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 our child," he said.
After making sure her child was safe in someone's arms, Rubeena jumped out of the window and landed on a car parked near the building. She sustained serious injuries and was being treated at the intensive care unit of Khalifa Hospital.
"I left everything I had at hand and ran towards my car to get home as quick as possible," Mohammed said.
"When I reached our home, my wife was already in hospital and my son was with people. I felt relieved when I saw that my son was saved. The people told me about the man who saved my son. I thank God and thank him for the great deed he has done for my family."
The fire was later found to be caused by an electric short circuit in the machines located in the corridor, which led to the rapid spread of thick smoke across the building.
Comments