Mamoudou Gassama's daring rescue of a young child dangling from a balcony, in Paris. Photos / AP
Mamoudou Gassama's daring rescue of a young child dangling from a balcony, in Paris. Photos / AP
A boy left hanging off a Paris balcony before being rescued by a hero immigrant climber dubbed "Spider-Man" had already fallen from the floor above, it emerged today.
The 4-year-old clambered over the front of the first balcony and then dropped about 4.5m to a ledge below, an investigating source said.
He somehow ended up dangling off the second balcony before hero Mamoudou Gassama saved him. Gassama was filmed scaling the side of the building to reach the child, the Daily Mail reports.
The twist in the saga came as the unnamed child's father was threatened with two years in prison. He was shopping and then playing video games - leaving his son alone on a balcony in the French capital's 18th arrondissement.
Members of the boy's family hailed "hero" Gassama for his bravery - but the child's mother did not blame her husband for what happened.
Soon after 8pm local time the child, who was wearing Spider-Man flip-flops, climbed over the balcony and was then left dangling four storeys above the street.
"How he didn't keep falling at this point is beyond belief," said an investigating source. "Instead he seemed to stick to the side of the building, like another little Spider-Man."
A crowd began gathering below, and Gassama scaled the building to grab the child in less than 30 seconds.
An astonishing video shows the man reaching the boy, grabbing him by the left arm, and then pulling him to safety while a man on a balcony next door desperately tries to reach the youngster.
Today, the mystery neighbour confirmed the little boy had fallen from the fifth to the fourth floor of the building. The man, who has not been named, can be seen in the video grabbing the boy just before Gassama arrived.
"The little lad was bleeding from the toes, and had lost a nail,' the neighbour told Le Parisien newspaper.
He added: "The boy was very brave as he had fallen from the floor above, before catching the balcony just below."
Asked why he had not simply climbed over the partitions between the two balconies, and lifted the boy to safety himself, the man said: "Given the configuration of the balcony, I couldn't lift him. I didn't want to risk letting go of his hand, I preferred to move slowly."
Referring to Gassama, the neighbour said: "When I arrived on my balcony, he was already climbing, he was so fast."
After the drama, Gassama, the neighbour, and the boy had a drink and food before emergency workers arrived.
"Mamoudou was very tired and didn't say much, he was still in shock," said the neighbour. "I hope to see Mamoudou again to congratulate him on his feat, which we accomplished together."
President Emmanuel Macron invited Gassama to the Elysee Palace, where he announced that the Malian immigrant to France was to be made a citizen, and to get a job in the Paris fire service.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the boy's 36-year-old father was on bail, and facing a charged of "failing in the legal obligations of a parent" - an offence punishable by up to two years in prison.
He will next appear in court on September 25, while the boy will be in the custody of his mother on Reunion Island, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. None of the family can be named for legal reasons.
Molins said: "The father left the flat just as the incident was unfolding. He went shopping and then decided to play Pokemon Go in the street, which took a little time before he returned home."
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, meets Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris.
The prosecutor said the window in the family flat had been left open, and there was no safety grille on the balcony.
Molins said: "The father is very upset because he realises what he did and what could have happened."
Gassama, who has been compared to the Marvel comic superhero Spider-Man, arrived in France at the end of last year "dreaming of building his life" in France.
He said: "I'm pleased because it's the first time I've received a prize like this."
The boy's mother, who was nearly 10,000km away when her son was dangling from the building, said she did not blame her husband for what happened.
"It could have been worse," said told Antenne TV in Reunion Island, where she is staying with her parents.
"I'm relieved, and in a hurry to get back with my husband and my son. The judicial police called me and told me the news.
"I was discussing it with people on Facebook and I saw that there was a video circulating. And it might have been better if I hadn't seen it."
Mamoudou Gassama has been fast-tracked French citizenship.
Responding to accusations that her husband had been playing video games, the woman said: "For the moment I don't know anything, I'm not going to boil my husband, I think he's been put in a bad position.
"He went to bring my son home, so my son was back with his father. My husband has now been put under social surveillance, this is normal after what happened.
"I'm not justifying my husband's behaviour. We can say that what happened could have happened to anyone, and it has happened to other people. My son was just lucky."
The mother said she was en route to Paris, where she would be questioned by social services today.
Thanking Gassama, the mother said: "He's been rewarded for his act.
"I can assure you that knowing that that [my husband's] child could have died in terrible circumstances without anyone being able to react…..yes, we can only thank this person. I'll wait to find him, to see if we can meet him."
