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07-10-2009, 09:26 AM
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Child Saved From Eighth-Floor Window in Chengdu Hostage Crisis
On July 7, 2009, a frightening standoff unfolded at an apartment building in Chengdu, China, when 34-year-old Hu Binjun threatened to jump from his eighth-floor apartment with his two-year-old daughter. Earlier that morning, Hu had reportedly argued with his wife, Wang Xingxin, over his drug use. His wife later said that he had recently begun taking drugs and had become increasingly unstable. During the incident, Hu held his daughter outside the window and threatened to drop her before killing himself. Police and firefighters spent around three hours trying to convince Hu to release the child, but their attempts were unsuccessful. The situation became even more dangerous when firefighters tried approaching the apartment. Hu moved back inside while leaving his daughter hanging upside down outside the window. With an eight-story fall below her, rescuers had very little room for error. A 22-year-old firefighter named Chen Long eventually decided to reach the girl from the floor above. While other firefighters and police distracted Hu inside the apartment, Chen lowered himself from the ninth floor and moved along the outside of the building toward the window. He managed to grab the little girl, but Hu tried to pull her back, leading to a brief struggle at the edge of the building. Chen was finally able to pull the child away while officers inside moved in on her father. When Hu then attempted to climb onto the windowsill himself, Chen helped force him back inside, where police took him into custody. The girl survived the ordeal and reportedly suffered only bruises to her arms and legs. When police brought Hu out of the building, a large crowd that had watched the rescue became enraged and attacked him despite officers attempting to protect him. Contemporary reports said more than 100 people became involved in the confrontation. What began as a desperate hostage situation ended with the child safely in the arms of the firefighter who had risked his own life climbing along the outside of the eighth floor to reach her. |