‘Only happens in movies’: video captures loving husband holding tightly on to wife while escaping from fire in China
- The couple became trapped on a balcony after their apartment in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, caught fire early on Sunday morning
- Both suffered serious burns and damaged airways and remain in intensive care
The couple became trapped on the balcony after their apartment in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, eastern-central coastal China, caught fire early on Sunday morning. The husband, surnamed Chen, grabbed hold of his wife, surnamed Wang, and sought shelter on the balcony until firefighters arrived.
After Wang was taken to safety, she begged the rescuers: “save my husband first,” a Weibo post by the Nanjing fire department on Monday showed.
Both husband and wife suffered serious burns including red and peeling skin and damaged airways and remain in intensive care at a local hospital, the Yangtse Evening News reported.
Wang suffered burns covering more than 95 per cent of her body, while Chen was even more seriously injured, Wang’s sister told the paper.
The couple have been happily married for over a decade and rarely fight, she said.
“My sister is the eldest sister in the family. She is a gentle person, and my brother-in-law is an honest man … they’re role models for me and my other siblings,” she said.
No one else was injured in the blaze, the cause of which is still under investigation.
Wang, who was stuck in their bedroom when the fire started in their second-floor apartment, climbed out the window and got on to the balcony beside it. Chen was already on the balcony so he grabbed her, said a witness, surnamed Wei, who lives in an apartment below the couple.
“They both had been severely burnt already and were only wearing their underwear. The man grabbed the woman for fear of her falling off,” he was quoted as saying.
The scene moved many who viewed the video online, with many applauding Chen’s true love on display during the blaze.
“I thought this would only happen in movies,” said one user on Weibo.
“It’s so touching, but it also reminds us about being prepared for fires at home, such as having fire extinguishers and escape ropes,” another commented.
