Woman, kids take the plunge to escape fire

Onlookers use large piece of cloth as safety net to rescue them

Amother in Saudi Arabia who forced her three children to jump out the window of a burning secondstorey flat said that their tears and fears prompted her to act.

“I knew we had no chance to survive the fire as it was spreading throughout the flat, and I had to act quickly,” Umm Nabeel said. “It was the most difficult decision I have ever made, but I went ahead and forced them out of the window before I jumped after them,” she said yesterday, quoted by Saudi daily Al Madinah.

Umm Nabeel and her three children, Nabeel, 11, Shifa, 10 and Alyan, three, were in their flat in the Saltana neighbourhood in Madinah when the fire started.

Matter of life and death

“I was in the kitchen preparing the suhour meal for the second day of Ramadan when the fire started and quickly spread out. I tried to put it out in a primitive manner, but I failed and I eventually opened the window and called for help. Some people understood the danger and tried to break into the flat, but there was so much smoke that the risks were too high. I took my children next to window where we could get some fresh air,” she said.

“I was really distraught. My children were crying and the flames and the smoke were coming ominously towards us. My mind was racing and I was trying to make sense and weigh all the options. It was a matter of life and death,” she said.

“Suddenly, I saw some men who brought a large piece of cloth that they spread and everybody shouted that we should jump. It was a difficult situation and I did not know what to do. I was torn between throwing the children out of the window and the risks of death inside the flat or on the pavement if the rescue went wrong.

“I finally decided to force Alyan out. He was the youngest and he was deeply scared from the fire.”

The boy landed safely and the mother then let Shifa and Nabeel out of the window before jumping out herself.

Umm Nabeel expressed her gratitude to the rescuers.