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Home / World

Paris terror attacks: Boyfriend learnt of partner's pregnancy from harrowing video

Herald online
17 Nov, 2015 05:43 PM4 mins to read

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The woman clung to the ledge until a Frenchman known only as Sebastian came to her rescue. Photo / Le Monde / Daniel Psenny
The woman clung to the ledge until a Frenchman known only as Sebastian came to her rescue. Photo / Le Monde / Daniel Psenny

The woman clung to the ledge until a Frenchman known only as Sebastian came to her rescue. Photo / Le Monde / Daniel Psenny

• Pregnant woman screamed for help as she clung to window ledge
• Family and friends unaware of pregnancy
• 89 people killed inside venue by three Isis militants
• READ MORE: France steps up response

The footage of a pregnant woman dangling from a window of Paris' Bataclan theatre has shocked people worldwide - including her boyfriend, who was unaware she was pregnant.

The unnamed woman was pulled to safety by a Frenchman known only as Sebastian, in an act of heroism that has become a symbol of the Paris tragedy.

The harrowing footage shows her hanging by her fingertips screaming: "I'm pregnant, please help me, I'm going to drop out."

According to the Sun her partner and parents only found out she was expecting when they watched the dramatic video.

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A friend told the newspaper that, at just 10 weeks pregnant, she had been waiting to tell people until she reached the three months' mark.

Concert-goers at the Eagles of Death Metal gig at the Bataclan were at the centre of the worst of the co-ordinated terror attacks to hit Paris on Saturday.

Three Isis terrorists stormed the venue, killing 89 people and injuring scores more.

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Another friend has reported the woman and her unborn baby are fine and friends of hers have taken to social media to find her hero and thank him.

Sebastian was trying to find a way out of the terror when he saw the pregnant woman hanging from the window.

After helping her back in the window the pair were ordered to lie face down with around 15 others. Sebastian said he could hear the killers shooting from the balconies and people screaming as if they were being tortured.

"They told us, 'We're here to make you go through what the innocent are suffering in Syria. You hear the cries of suffering? Now you feel the fear that people go through every day in Syria. It's war. And that's just the beginning. We will massacre the innocent. We want you to tell everybody.'"

Discover more

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He saved the woman on the ledge

16 Nov 05:34 PM
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Minutes before the slaughter

16 Nov 10:45 PM
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17 Nov 03:59 AM
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France draws on its strength

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The terrorists then asked him and others to call the media.

"They wanted to talk to reporters. They asked, for some reason, if money was important to me and took out a wad of €50 notes and made me burn them.

"They spoke French to one another... One was Algerian-looking with blue eyes.

"Then they wanted to talk to the police. They put us against the windows and I had to shout to them to stay away.

"They said they had explosive belts and if the police approached they would blow us all up. They didn't seem organised and spoke to a negotiator via a hostage's Notebook. The only claim they made was the withdrawal of forces.

"Then they threatened to kill one of us every five minutes and throw a body out of the window. I think they negotiator managed to organise that we would come out, and then we waited.

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"We were the hostages. Those minutes were the longest of my life. I went through all the emotions including hope and finally the acceptance of death, even if I closed my eyes against it and the Kalashnikov pointed in my direction.

"The terrorists had placed two human shields on doors but the security services managed to burst in without touching them. They used a battering ram and threw a stun grenade. When I saw a second one fall at my feet I told myself it was time to flee.

"I ran. The grenade exploded and threw me under the ram as the forces came through. I was trampled on but it was the happiest day of my life. I was saved."

- nzherald.co.nz

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