Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
A four-year-old boy in Hunan, China, jumped from his home on the 26th floor while holding an umbrella as a makeshift parachute as he tried to imitate what he had watched in cartoons.
Fortunately, he survived the experience, and is now recovering in a local hospital.
Boy was unsupervised
The incident took place on May 26 afternoon in Jishou City, Hunan, as reported by Shui Mu Wang, a Shandong-based media network, on Weibo.
Sources told the news platform that the boy's mother works in a different city, while his father often travels abroad for work.
The boy's grandmother, who is his primary caregiver, had gone out to fetch his sister at the time of the incident.
Inspired by 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons
According to Oriental Daily, a Malaysia-based Chinese newspaper, the boy had been watching "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, and imagined he would be able to land safely on the ground if he held an umbrella.
He reportedly jumped out of the window overlooking the balcony, which did not have anti-theft cameras installed as the unit was on a high level.
Thankfully, the boy was relatively light, and his fall was also broken by a large tree, which reduced the force of impact.
The boy's injuries
The boy reportedly broke his right arm upon landing.
The Weibo video showed him being stretchered into an ambulance by paramedics, seemingly with the assistance of passers-by.
Oriental Daily added in an update on May 27 that the boy is currently recovering and hospitalised.
He was found to have multiple fractures in different parts of his body but his condition is stable.
Online users respond
In the comment section for the original video, users debated about whether cartoons are to blame for the boy's actions.
The top comment opined that the boy's caregivers were at fault, as they should have closed the windows securely as a young child was at home.
Other users admitted that when they were young, they had similar ideas as the boy, but valued their lives too much to try something like that.
To which one responded that he knew since young that the scenes in cartoons were fake.
Top image from screenshots of video from Shui Mu Wang on Weibo.