Man throws baby from third floor to escape burning apartment building

A Chinese man and his young child are lucky to be alive after jumping from the third floor of their burning apartment building to the ground to escape the blaze.

Mobile phone footage shows the moment the father was forced to put his trust in his neighbours, who were holding mattresses to collect them as they jumped from the window.

Realising he has no other way to get to safety, the man drops his bundled baby in the direction of the mattress.

Once he sees that his neighbours have safely caught the child, he climbs part way down the exterior wall before jumping to the ground himself.

The apartment fire occurred in south-eastern China's Wenzhou prefecture yesterday.

The man and the child were both rushed to hospital and are in stable conditions, according to People's Daily.