http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJnYwesDF8

(YouTube: videqod)

A CHINESE FIREFIGHTER’S brave and dramatic attempt to stop a man from jumping from an apartment window – while the man was holding his toddler son – has gone viral worldwide.

The footage was shot earlier this week in the city of Xiping, the capital of China’s Qinghai province.

The video shows the man sitting on the edge of his window, clearly in a distressed state, and holding his 2-year-old son.

But while the man appeared to have been distracted by the efforts of staff on the ground – who were inflating a mattress for the pair to fall on – other firefighters were planning a slightly less predictable tactic.

Dramatically, a firefighter abseils down the building – and kicks the man back into his apartment, ensuring he cannot fall from the window.

Sky News said the man had reportedly fallen out with his wife, and that rescuers were able to rescue their son after entering through another window.