Footage shows the moment hero clings to tower block wall to save dangling toddler

The heart-stopping moment a man hangs onto the outside of a tower block to rescue a toddler dangling from an eighth-floor window has been caught on camera.

Sabit Shontakbaev, 37, was on his way to work when he noticed a crowd below screaming. He looked up to see a three-year-old girl hanging from the upper-floor window of the apartment building in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Mr Shontakbaev immediately ran upstairs, climbing out of the seventh floor window and balancing precariously to try and reach the toddler to prevent her falling.

The heroic rescuer reached out to grab the child's legs, pulling her down and catching her in his arms.

The footage then shows Mr Shontakbaev passing the child to his friend through the open window. He didn't have a safety harness or rope, so his friend had to hold onto his legs.

It's understood the child had piled up her toys and cushions to climb out of the window.

Mr Shontakbaev has been hailed a hero and awarded a medal for courage from the city's mayor.

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