
DUBAI 29 May 2018: Heros come in all shapes and sizes – this time it came in the form of 22-year old Mamoudou Gassama who scaled the side of a building in Paris’ northern 18th district in 40 seconds to save the 4-year old child dangling off the edge of a balcony.
Gassama who is a migrant from Mali, gained the attention of people worldwide and has been dubbed ‘spiderman’ for his selfless action. Only 36 hours after the initial incident Gassama met with French President Emmanuel Macron who said he would be made a naturalised citizen. He personally thanked Gassama, gave him a medal for courage and offered him a role in the fire service.
Gassama had just been walking by when he noticed a crowd around the apartment building.
He told Macron: “I just didn’t have time to think, I ran across the road to go and save him.” adding, “When I started to climb, it gave me courage to keep climbing.”
God helped me, too, he said. “Thank God I saved him.”
He said that the boy was crying when he hoisted him to safety and also suffered an injured foot.
Firefighters arrived to find their services no longer needed. A spokesperson said, “Luckily, there was someone who was physically fit and who had the courage to go and get the child,”.
The French media has quoted local authorites saying that they boys parents were not home at the time however the father has been questioned by police on suspicion of leaving his child unattended, judicial sources say. The mother is believed to have not been in Paris at the time.
Anne Hidalgo the mayor of Paris, was among the many praising the 22-year-old’s heroism and said she called him to thank him.
She called him the “Spiderman of the 18th”, referring to the Paris district where the rescue took place, and called him an “example for all citizens”.
Video posted by The Star Online on YouTube