Girl survives 12 floor fall

2005-11-24 11:50

Kuala Lumpur - A five-year-old Malaysian girl miraculously survived after falling from her home on the 12th floor of an apartment building in Malaysia's northern Penang state, local media said on Thursday.

V Sneeha sustained injuries to her left hand and suffered a broken right leg but landed conscious after the fall, which was broken by awnings and a tree.

Her father, policeman Vijaya Rao, told the Star daily she had accidentally locked herself in the bathroom and tried to get through to an adjoining room by climbing out the window.

"Sneeha probably thought she could get back into the master bedroom that way but didn't realise there was no balcony or anything else to support her," he told the Bernama news agency.

"My wife tried to calm her down but the crying continued for about five minutes," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

"After that there was silence and my wife did not know what had happened."

His wife finally managed to force the door open but their daughter was missing. Fearing the worst, she looked out the window and spotted Sneeha lying on the ground.

"With the aid of neighbours she quickly rushed the girl to hospital and I am grateful to God for not taking away my daughter from us," Rao said.

- AFP