A terrified nine-year-old boy has had a miracle escape from a blazing fire after bravely climbing out of his home - 80ft above the ground.
He clambered on to an external air conditioner unit as the inferno ravaged his family's flat in Russia.
The petrified child, named Denis, was heard pleading in anguish "mama help me" - but she was not at home.
A resident of the block, who witnessed the drama, said: “His screams broke my heart.”
The youngster was home alone after school in Samara city when the flames tore through his eight floor apartment.
Unable to let himself out of the flat’s outer door, and choking from smoke, he climbed onto one of two air conditioner units, the one furthest from the flames.
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A hair-raising video shows Denis crouching on top of the air conditioner - and at one point precariously peering down the the ground below.
He held tightly to the window frame, but had also undergone training as a young climber - which may have saved his life.
A worried eyewitness called Anastasia said: “The boy was home alone.
“The fire was very strong, flames were coming outside from the balcony.
“The kid had nothing else to do but climb out of the window and crouch on the air conditioner.
“We feared that the air conditioner would break off and fall.”
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Luckily the unit stayed put and a firefighter eventually got into his flat and plucked the child to safety.
Earlier rescuers had tried to raise a ladder to the boy but it got stuck in trees next to the block.
After being alerted to the fire, the boy’s father had rushed home and let fireman into the flat.
Anastasia said: “His parents arrived at the same time as the firefighters.
“Thank God, the child is okay, just very scared.
“He is now in the ambulance wrapped in a blanket having tea.”
The boy was taken to hospital for serious smoke inhalatinon.
The firefighter who rescued him, Evgeny Gulyaikin, said: “We were in breathing apparatus because the apartment was heavy in smoke.
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“We entered the big room, where the sofa was already burning.
“I and my partner rushed to the bedroom where the boy was outside the window.
“He saw us, I grabbed him tightly.
“I was so afraid to drop him - the height was eight floors.
“I brought him in through there window.
“I immediately took him out of the apartment block and handed him to medics.
“The boy, of course, was in shock. And for us it was very worrying.”
The boy’s parents had been at work when the fire ignited, said reports.
An investigation into the cause is underway.
Some 67 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the fire, with 31 residents needing to be evacuated.
