A six-year-old Chinese boy cheated death when he fell out of the window of a tall building only to catch his ears in a metal grate
Ming Ming was left dangling eight floors above a city street with his head stuck between the protective bars.
The youngster screamed and bawled until he caught the attention of passers-by in Yinchang, Hubei Province.
As a crowd gathered, horrified neighbours could do nothing to help until emergency services arrived.
Firemen used a hydraulic pressurised expander to force open the bars and pull the terrified child to safety.
The accident is believed to have happened after his grandfather went out on an errand and left him sleeping in the family flat.
The boy woke up alone and is thought to have fallen out of the window while looking for his grandfather.
Fire service spokesman Wang Shen described the escape as miraculous.
"He could have fallen to the ground - or have been suffocated - at any minute," he said