Heroic Mother Climbs Down Building to Save Children from South Korea Fire

GWANGYANG, South Korea: A woman in her 40s carried out a perilous rescue in South Korea’s South Jeolla Province on Jan 19, climbing down the exterior wall of an apartment building to reach her three young children trapped inside their burning home. The fire broke out at about 5.23pm local time at a fifth-floor unit in Gwangyang, leaving three girls under the age of five stranded inside. Their mother could not enter through the front door because of heavy smoke and flames. She instead went to the unit directly above and climbed down the outer wall with her bare hands to reach her daughters. She stayed with the children and kept them safe until firefighters arrived. All four sustained minor smoke inhalation and were discharged from the hospital by Jan 20. The blaze was fully extinguished by 6.18pm on Jan 19. Fire authorities said scaling an apartment facade is extremely dangerous even for trained professionals, calling it highly unusual for a civilian to succeed in such an attempt. The family has been placed in temporary housing provided by the city, and Gwangyang officials are reviewing financial assistance for them. - The Korea Herald/