Firefighter holds onto truck driver for 45 mins to save him from falling off bridge in South Korea

A firefighter saved the life of a truck driver by holding onto him for 45 minutes to prevent him from falling off a bridge in South Korea.

According to local media reports, the incident took place on Wednesday (Nov 27) morning on the Joongang Expressway in the North Gyeongsang province.

The truck driver, a man in his 60s, lost control of his vehicle on the snow-covered road and crashed into the railings.

The impact threw the driver out of his seat, leaving him dangling over the 11-metre-high bridge.

Fire corporal Park Jun-hyeon and other members of the 119 emergency rescue service in Poongsan soon arrived at the scene, and began to rescue the driver.

However, the truck's damaged doors and the lack of space made it difficult for them to perform a quick rescue.

"At first, I couldn't see the driver because there were blankets piled up inside the driver's seat," Park said.

"When I removed the blankets, I saw that the driver [dangling from] the driver's seat."

According to Yonhap, Park tried to grab the driver but he was only able to reach the driver's hand.

"I could only hold onto his hand," the firefighter said.

He ended up doing so for 45 minutes, Chosun Daily reported.

Due to the precarious position the driver was in, Park did not dare to switch himself out with anyone else for fear of the driver falling.

As time passed, parts of the truck fell to the ground below, making the driver flinch.

Park, however, maintained his cool and calmed the panicked driver.

Help soon arrived — air mattresses were laid out beneath the bridge, and a vehicle with an aerial platform was brought to the scene to rescue the trapped driver.

The driver was subsequently brought to safety.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com