- The woman scaled a security barrier to clamber up to a girder above a busy road
- Firefighters without harnesses inched towards her and haul her down to safety
- The mayor of Seville, where the footage was taken, has praised their bravery
Two Spanish firefighters risked their own lives by clambering up to a precarious steel girder above a busy road without safety harnesses to rescue a woman.
Locals called the emergency services after spotting the woman scaling a security barrier to put herself in inexplicable danger on the 15-inch girder, near an underpass in the southern city of Seville.
Astonishing video footage shows two firefighters inching towards the woman 30 feet above ground level before grabbing her and bringing her to safety.
This is the dramatic moment firefighters risk their lives to rescue a woman perched precariously on a steel girder above a busy road in Spain
They could be seen talking to her to comfort her after putting their arms round her to stop her falling.
The reasons she put herself at risk were not immediately clear today, although she was described as being ‘disorientated’ when she was rescued.
The dramatic incident happened overnight.
Seville councillor Juan Carlos Cabrera praised the bravery of the firefighters, saying: ‘They reacted quickly and put their lives in danger to save a person who could have dragged them with her if she had fallen.’
Seville’s mayor Juan Espadas tweeted: ‘Congratulations to these brave men for their risky operation to save a life by putting yours in danger.’
Two firefighters without safety harnesses inching towards the woman 30 feet above ground level before grabbing her and bringing her to safety
They could be seen talking to her to comfort her after putting their arms round her to stop her falling
The Ronda Norte, the bypass the girder crosses, was shut to traffic for around 40 minutes while the woman was rescued.
A local emergency services coordinator posted a message alongside the video which said: ‘Risky operation by firefighters who rescued a woman aged around 40 who was on a girder around 15 inches wide and some 30 foot above the ground. On the Ronda Urbana Norte in Seville.’
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