Herald Sun
February 6, 2008

A two-year-old boy has been saved from a horrific apartment fire in Germany that killed nine people, after his terrified parents threw him from a third-storey window.

Photos show the dramatic moment his parents, seen at a tiny window, threw their son to rescuers below. Their actions saved his life, but their fate, and that of two other adults at the window, was not known.

Authorities said at least nine people — including five children — died in the blaze on Monday, and up to 60 were injured.

The boy was saved by a police officer standing below, who caught him. Web designer Rene Werse, 43, took the pictures.

“I saw things I shall never forget,” he said. “There were people on their balconies and at windows, screaming to get out. It was hell.”

Some 22 people were injured in the fire at the apartment building, where 24 Turkish citizens were registered as living.

However, more people had been in the four-storey house to attend a celebration.

“Unfortunately, we cannot exclude further victims,” police spokeswoman Simone Eisenbarth said.

The cause of the fire was not clear.

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