Street seller scales burning building to rescue disabled man from fire

A Senegalese man has been hailed as a hero after scaling a burning building to rescue a disabled man from a fire.

Street seller Gorgui spared no thought for his own safety when he rushed to the rescue of Alex, 39, who was left bedridden after falling ill, on the Costa Blanca in Spain.

The rescue happened on December 6 at 12.24pm when a fire broke out on the first floor of Alex’s house on Calle Port de Denia in the centre of Alicante.

After seeing smoke billowing out from the house and hearing shouts for help, a neighbour raised the alarm.

Roberta Etter told The Local that she and another neighbour broke down the door, but were too scared to run into the burning building.

Then, out of nowhere, a young man dressed in bright blue threw down a sack of goods he was carrying and scaled the wall ‘like spiderman’.

Ms Etter said: ‘He just threw Alex over his shoulder and came back down a rickety ladder.

‘Alex wouldn’t have lasted another two minutes. The guy saved his life, there is no question about that.’

Eyewitnesses said the man washed his hands and then disappeared before anyone could catch his name or even say thank-you.

However, The Local tracked him down and identified him as a Senegalese street seller named Gorgui.

The father-of-one, who came to Spain on a boat from the West Coast of Africa two-and-a-half years ago, has insisted anyone would have done what he did.

He said: ‘I didn’t think, I just climbed up to get him.

‘It’s true that I am poor, that I don’t have money but I have a heart.

‘I have a heart that wants to help people and I knew I could save him.

‘A hero? I just did what any good human would do.’

Alex – who reportedly hadn’t been out of the flat in months – suffered from burns and smoke inhalation.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene before being transferred to the local hospital and onto a specialist burns uni at La Fe Hospital in Valencia.

He has now been discharged and is staying with a friend, according to reports.

Javier Scotto,the councillor for citizens’ safety, told news agency Efe he deserves praise because he helped ‘avoid a fatal situation’.

Mr Scotto said: ‘He carried out a heroic act without being prompted and he deserves public recognition for it.’