Mum cries while thanking migrant workers who saved daughter, 6, from River Valley fire

A six-year-old girl fell unconscious during the River Valley shophouse fire on Apr. 8, but fortunately a group of migrant workers rescued her from a three-storey ledge.

The girl's mother, Liu Ling, teared up when thanking her daughter's rescuers at an appreciation event on Apr. 20, Tabla reported.

"My daughter is lucky to have had so many heroes here from India and Bangladesh to save her life,” said Liu.

Liu and her husband were at a get-together organised by local charity ItsRainingRaincoats, which brought together 15 migrant workers and families of the children they rescued.

The rescue

On Apr. 8, Liu's daughter had been attending a five-day cooking camp at Tomato Cooking School when the blaze broke out.

The fire claimed the life of a 10-year-old Australian girl, and six adults and 15 other children were injured.

On the morning of the fire, children were seen perched on a ledge outside the third-storey windows.

Migrant workers who were nearby helped to rescue the children by erecting scaffolding outside the shophouse and brought them to safety.

“My daughter is among the youngest ones to survive the blaze. It is a very serious accident. I can’t imagine such an accident happening in Singapore,” Liu added.

'We had no second thoughts'

The migrant workers also recounted their experiences during the rescue.

One of the rescuers, Chinnappa Kannadasan, had perched on top of a ladder and passed children to other migrant workers so they could be brought to safety.

“Teachers and children were crying out for help. We had no second thoughts. We had to try and rescue them,” Kannadasan said, as quoted by Tabla.

Another worker, Govindaraj Elangeshwaran, said he was happy to meet the children they had saved, but felt sad that they did not manage to rescue the 10-year-old girl who died.

Attendees presented the migrant workers gifts such as clothing, cash envelopes, goodie bags and even home-baked brownies.

ItsRainingRaincoats wrote on its Facebook, "It was an experience that shook many of us. Their stories were raw, powerful, and unforgettable. And while we came to thank them, they left us inspired."

The charity said that at the request of the public, it has launched a fundraising campaign to support the workers.

The campaign closes on May 1.

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Top image from ItsRainingRaincoats/Facebook