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4-year-old girl survives fall from 9th floor in Oita

19 Comments

A 4-year-old girl sustained only minor injuries after she fell from the balcony of her 9th floor apartment in Usa, Oita Prefecture.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 10 a.m. on Sunday. TBS reported that the girl had been on the balcony when she stood on a chair and climbed atop the one-meter railing.

She fell 22.5 meters and hit some hedges that ran alongside the apartment building.

Her mother told police that she had been doing laundry at the time of the accident and had not noticed her daughter on the balcony.

The girl's legs were injured in the fall, but she was otherwise physically uninjured.

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19 Comments
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Great news that the little girl survived from such an enormous height, hope she recovers fully. 9 is definitely a lucky number!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

She broke her right leg, but all things considered 'minor injuries' indeed. Lucky!

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Glad she will recover soon, that has got to be so scary. Kids only need one minute and that's it. 9th floor, that is a long way down!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

It's amazing the number of kids who survive these long falls from apartment buildings in Japan. Not all of them make it, but it's always good to hear some happy endings to these unfortunate accidents.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Miraculous considering the distance she had fallen.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Whoa, Kid, pick me a lottery ticket.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Nothing short of a miracle. Mom, how hard would it be to put locks on your balcony door? Another complacent parent, who got lucky this time. Thumbs down me all you want, she chose laundry over her child's safety.

-6 ( +7 / -13 )

@sensei258 By the time a kid is 4 years old, they can open most standard locks you'd find in a Japanese apartment. Given that most apartments don't let you make modifications, the standard lock is all you get.

This sort of thing should be a warning to get building owners to put real child-safe doors on the balcony.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Whoah 9th floor?! Take care of your baby from now on she'll grow up to be legendary! I just know it!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A resounding 'Wake the hell up!' To all you people that live in high rise buildings with kids. Don't put bloody furniture on the balcony! Are you really so stupid as to believe your kids won't climb it? I have a 5m X 11m balcony on the 7th floor with heaps of furniture and a small play gym for the kids, but it is all dina-bolted into position and cannot be dragged to the 1.8m fence to be used as purchase or it is all too heavy for kids to move. Wake the hell up people! Kids will climb anything cos that's what kids do. This mother was very bloody lucky and a I hope she has removed the chairs from the balcony, but somehow, I doubt if she has! She probably blames the kid for climbing it!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Poor little girl and poor mother. Got to be the worst feeling to look out the window and see your child 9 feet below. At least it all went well, lucky for her!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

9 feet?! I wouldn't be able to hold back the tears. Broke her right leg? So that means toe, right?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

@ Thomas - That's when you purchase the clamp-on locks at the 100 yen shop. They are installed at the top of the sliding door or window. They're out of reach, and too tight for a child to loosen anyway. I raised two small grandchildren in a 7th floor apartment, and had these. So this near-tragedy could have been avoided for 100 yen.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Is there some kind of competition going on here? This does happen very often...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

But because it didn't cross the mother's mind that something like this could happen, it did.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Well I see it a lot. Young kids peering over the balcony 10 levels up. Young kids with no helmets on the back of bicycles while mum texts at the same time, young kids with unfastened safety belts hanging out the car windows and climbing all over the dash as mum drives along with a big smile on her face, yellow hats walking home alone, along dangerous, narrow streets while mum happily waits for the door bell to ring. Different culture, different attitude. I am sure they love their children just as much as any other culture. Maybe it is just a case of what will be will be. Whatever they do seem rather complacent and a oblivious to the the childs safety at times or at least the possible consequences and ramifications of various situations and circumstances.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Quote enricopallazzo: " 9 feet?! I wouldn't be able to hold back the tears. Broke her right leg? So that means toe, right?"

More like 70 feet. Oh, and I saw one news source suggesting the she had broken her femur (thigh bone).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Thank you Jesus!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

You guys can thumbs down me from now until doomsday, what matters is the safety of the child, not the feelings of the mother. Where's the sympathy for the little one who trusts her life to the "responsible" adult?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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