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Tourist arrested after child found sitting on 21st-floor air conditioning unit in Benidorm
The eight-year-old was found sitting on an exterior air conditioning unit after allegedly being left alone in a holiday apartment
A tourist has been arrested in Benidorm after police rescued his young son from an air conditioning unit on the outside of a 21st-floor apartment, where the child was at serious risk of falling.
The dramatic rescue unfolded at around 11pm on Saturday July 25 after the caretaker of a building on Avenida Bilbao received a call from a concerned neighbour who had spotted the child sitting outside the apartment.
When officers first arrived, they were unable to locate the youngster from inside the building, so they began trying to gain access to the flat. With help from a neighbour, they reached the balcony of the adjoining apartment, where they discovered the child sitting on the exterior air conditioning unit high above the ground.
Realising the danger, one officer grabbed the child by the arm to stop him from falling, while a second officer held onto his colleague to prevent them both from going over the edge.
Firefighters were called to assist, but before they arrived the building's caretaker obtained a spare key to the tourist apartment, allowing officers to enter the property and bring the child safely inside.
Police later found documents in the apartment, including the boy's Bulgarian passport, which helped them identify his father.
When the man returned to the apartment, he was arrested on suspicion of temporarily abandoning a minor and taken to a local police station.
According to police, the father told officers that his son, who has autism spectrum disorder, had been left alone in the apartment while he went out to run some errands.
The incident has been referred to the judicial authorities for further investigation.
Image: Policia Local
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