Man falls 12 floors after passing tornado sucks him out of apartment in China

A man in Hubei province, China fell from the 12th floor of his apartment after a strong gust of wind from a passing tornado blew out his window.

He sustained serious injuries from the fall and is currently undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Incident

According to local local media, the incident occurred on Jul. 6 evening in Huanggang, Hubei.

A severe storm in the city and surrounding areas between 7pm and 11pm left behind a trail of destruction, including broken trees, damages to vehicles and shops, as well as casualties.

Some towns were also reportedly hit by tornadoes.

Man was in living room

At about 8pm, the man, surnamed Zhang, was in the living room of his 12th floor apartment, which had its windows shut.

A strong gust of wind then blew the windows open before ripping out the glass panels and window frames.

The sofa, wardrobe and dining table in the home were also blown out by the wind.

According to Zhang's brother-in-law, he was sucked out of the house through the exposed area and fell onto a green belt in the neighbourhood.

His wife and child, who had been in the bedroom at the time, were unharmed.

Strong winds

Speaking to the media, Zhang's brother-in-law described the unusual extensive damage the winds caused.

According to him, all the south and north-facing windows of the apartment building were destroyed.

Windows and their frames were swept out, while untethered items in homes disappeared.

"It's like the entire building was hollowed out," he said.