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Miracle! Boy falls nine stories and survives
A two-year-old boy surnamed Yang, who lives in New Taipei City
was under his mother's care yesterday
because his main caretaker — his granddad — was out
As it was raining yesterday
his mother held his younger brother in one arm
and an umbrella in the other to go buy breakfast
The boy was left alone at home
He climbed onto a shelf and fell out the window of their ninth floor apartment
onto the awning above the first floor
He then rolled from the awning
to the roof of a tool room
a meter below the awning
Petrified, the boy laid still, eyes open
His neighbor used a stepladder to rescue him
He did not cry
until he was brought down
He was rushed to the hospital
Miraculously, he only had minor swelling in the back of his head
and scratches on his elbows
He did not have a concussion
nor did he sustain broken bones or suffer internal bleeding
He was very fortunate
A physicist said that
the boy's 12-kilograms of body weight
fell about 27 meters from the ninth floor
The sudden impact of him hitting the awning
was the equivalent of about 276 kilograms
Fortunately, there was a layer of foam in the awning about 5cm thick
Some of the force of the impact was also absorbed by the cracking of the roof
Approximately half of the force of impact was thus reduced
In addition, the boy rolled off the awning onto a slope
and fell onto the slightly springy roof of the tool room
so the impact was further reduced
This is why he was lucky and only sustained minor injuries
The child was fully conscious
He was crying
The New Taipei City bureau of social welfare will investigate the accident
before determining whether to punish the boy's parents
by fining them NT$3,000 to NT$15,000 for violations against child welfare
Experts advise parents
to install child-safety locks
or grills on windows to prevent tragedy from happening
Do not leave children alone at home
and do not place furniture near windows for children to climb onto
Windows should only be able to open 10cm
Apple Daily News