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The man lived on the apartment's sixth floor. Photo: Screenshot via Sohu

Wife catches husband as he jumps from window

Woman held husband by the leg in mid-air for almost 20 minutes

A man jumped from the window of his sixth floor apartment and would have fallen to his death on the pavement below if it hadn’t been for the fast actions of his wife - who caught his leg and held it for nearly 20 minutes until help arrived.

The incident occurred on Wednesday morning in Changchun City of Jilin Province, reported Chinese news portal Sohu. The man, a 45-year-old Shanxi native, leaned out of his window and began to fall until his wife grabbed his right leg at the last moment.
Onlookers alerted the police after they saw the man hanging in mid-air. Photo: Screenshot via Sohu
Officers from the Changchun City police station rushed to the apartment after onlookers saw the man’s body hanging in the air. They opened the locked door to the couple’s apartment with a crowbar and helped the wife pull her husband back inside. By the time police arrived, the woman had been holding her husband for nearly 20 minutes, and her body had begun to stiffen from the strain.

As the authorities finished their rescue, the man seemed to become aware of his predicament. He later told police he had been suffering from “delusions” that may have been brought on by stress. He had tried to jump from the window after experiencing painful headaches.

According to reports, the man and his wife had not lived in the apartment very long, and their child was away from home at the time of the incident.

Netizens have speculated on the reasons behind the man’s jump. Some assumed he was suicidal and criticised him for trying to “abandon his family”. Others praised his wife’s bravery.

“It doesn’t matter why the man jumped or even who he was,” one Sina Weibo user wrote. “What matters is his wife saved his life. I hope that this couple can live happily for the rest of their lives. Human life is already short and bitter – we needn’t argue about [the reasons] behind this incident”.

Another netizen had a different view.

“It is very important to find a wife with good arm strength,” the poster mused.

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