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Elderly Woman Rescued After Jumping From Burning Balcony in Kallithea
🇬🇷 Greece /Disasters & Emergencies

Elderly Woman Rescued After Jumping From Burning Balcony in Kallithea

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A 75-year-old woman was rescued after jumping from a burning apartment balcony in Kallithea, Greece.
  • Passersby caught the woman, who was trapped by flames on the first floor, and she escaped serious injury.
  • The fire destroyed the apartment, and four people, including the elderly couple living there and two firefighters, were hospitalized.

Dramatic scenes unfolded in Kallithea, Greece, on Sunday when a fire engulfed a first-floor apartment, trapping a 75-year-old woman on her balcony. The blaze broke out around 4 p.m. at the intersection of Aristeidou and Agion Panton streets.

While her husband managed to escape through a back door, the woman found herself surrounded by flames. Encouraged by bystanders, she leaped from the balcony into their waiting arms. Miraculously, she sustained no serious injuries, though the building was completely destroyed.

I see the grandma shouting 'Help, help' and I stop my motorbike and say 'Jump down grandma, I'll catch you, jump.' And a young man comes. And the grandma jumps and I catch her with the young man.

— PasserbyDescribing the rescue of the 75-year-old woman from the burning balcony.

Video footage captured the harrowing moment. One rescuer, a motorcyclist who stopped to help, described seeing the woman shouting for help. "Jump, grandma, jump, I'll catch you," he recalled telling her before she leaped. He and another individual managed to catch her.

The woman was shouting, and from one side and the other there was fire, she had gone to the corner and we were shouting from below 'jump, jump' and at the last moment we caught her. A young man was injured because, logically, with so much weight.

— PasserbyRecounting the dramatic moments leading up to the balcony rescue.

Another passerby noted the intense smoke and flames. "The woman was shouting, and there was fire on both sides. She went to the corner, and we shouted from below, 'Jump, jump.' At the last moment, we caught her." He mentioned that one of the rescuers sustained an injury due to the weight of catching her.

The elderly couple residing in the apartment were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Two firefighters were also injured during the firefighting operation: one with facial burns and the other experiencing severe respiratory problems requiring oxygen. The fire department brought the blaze under control before it could spread to adjacent properties, and an investigation into its cause is underway.

I see that it is emitting smoke and the grandma was shouting 'Help, help.' I dropped my motorbike and told her 'Jump, jump' and I caught her in my arms with another child. The only thing I want is for the grandma to be well.

— Greek-Pontian rescuerExpressing his relief and humanitarian sentiment after participating in the rescue.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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