Dad-of-one Kwon Young Jun risked his life to save his wife and daughter when he jumped across a collapsing sky bridge on the 52nd floor of a 672ft apartment block
Man leaps across collapsing building to save family during earthquake
A hero dad jumped across a collapsing walkway connecting two buildings during an earthquake to save his family. Kwon Young Jun made the epic Hollywood-style leap as the 672ft apartment block collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28.
Shocked onlookers on the ground below who were recording the effects of the tremors captured the moment. Kwon, from Seoul, South Korea, was later pictured with his family on the street outside eating some rice. The dad-of-one said: “All I could think about was getting back down to the room to save my wife and child.
“I realised it was an earthquake and the building was breaking apart, but I saw the gap and just jumped.” Kwon’s wife Sukanya Yutuam, said: “My husband was exercising on the 52nd floor of one of the three blocks in the condominium.
“The events that day happened so fast. No one was at their most mindful. Instinct took over and he jumped across the buildings.”
The United States Geological Survey reported that a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Sagaing, Myanmar, at 1.20pm, with the impact being felt in Thailand. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock followed in the same area at 1.32pm.
Footage shows the skyscrapers shaking amid the tremor, with debris falling to the ground. Three buildings in the condominium complex are connected by sky bridges, which were damaged in the incident, causing debris to fall to the ground.
When the earthquake struck, Sukanya and their daughter were in their residence on the 30th floor of a neighbouring block. As the buildings swayed, Kwon leaped across a falling sky bridge to reach the other building in search of his family. After realising they had already evacuated, he walked down more than 40 floors to reunite with them.
The heroic dad added: “I was just worried about my child. I had to go and take care of my wife and daughter. The concrete had partly separated at that moment, and I heard a loud bang after I had jumped over. After that, I kept running without looking back, thinking only of my family.”
After the incident, Kwon’s family temporarily moved to another district to live with Sukanya’s parents. The condominium’s developer said that the building remains safe after inspections were conducted.
The structure of the connecting bridge is also intact, as it is designed to be attached to only one building, with the connecting section able to move during earthquakes.
Thai residents ran from their homes when they felt the tremors shortly after 1:20 pm local time. In neighbouring Myanmar, more than 2,000 people have been killed by the earthquake. Rescue efforts are ongoing.
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