- Clip shows officers arriving at apartment blaze in Spanish port city of Cartagena
- Rather than help the man on the ground, second responders focus on the fire
- Police say video doesn’t show part where officers call paramedics to treat man
This is the incredible moment a man lays critically injured on the ground as police officers walk by him after he jumped from his balcony to escape a fire.
None of the half-dozen officers filmed arriving at the scene of the apartment block fire in the Spanish port city of Cartagena appeared to go up to him and help him.
The first two responders were filmed reaching the flats in an area called Escudo.
A man lays critically injured on the ground as police officers walk by him after he jumped from his balcony to escape a fire
Rather than help the man lying on the ground beside them, second responders get on their radios and focus their attention on the flames.
Only towards the end of the footage, lasting for more than two minutes, did an officer approach the casualty to check on him.
The unnamed man suffered serious head injuries after jumping nearly 20 feet from his balcony as he tried to cheat death.
None of the half-dozen officers filmed arriving at the scene of the apartment block fire in the Spanish port city of Cartagena appeared to go up to him and help him
Rather than help the man lying on the ground beside them, officers appear to get on their radios and focus their attention on the flames
Another three people were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire broke out on Thursday afternoon in a first-floor flat.
Firefighters took nearly an hour to put out the blaze, which affected apartments on the two floors above the first-floor bedroom where it began.
Local police told a regional paper the video footage only featured part of a sequence of events and insisted officers had gone up to the man on the ground when they reached the scene.
The fire broke out on Thursday afternoon in a first-floor flat in an area called Escudo
Local police told a regional paper the video footage only featured part of a sequence of events and insisted officers had gone up to the man on the ground when they reached the scene
They said the video didn’t show officers calling for back-up from paramedics after checking his condition and discovering he was unconscious.
A police spokesman said: ‘A person in this state cannot be touched because there’s a risk more serious injuries could be caused.’
Emergency services workers questioned the police actions, with one telling local paper La Opinion de Murcia: ‘Several minutes go by without the injured man being evaluated or receiving first aid.
‘It’s pretty shocking to see how no-one appears to assist him in a simple gesture of humanity.’