Watch as firefighters thwart suicide jumper in Northeast China building

A man attempting to commit suicide was hauled off the ledge of a window by firefighters in Northeast China.

In a video recorded by one onlooker, a man emerges outside of a window in an apartment block several storeys high, before dangling down and looking on the verge of falling to his death.

The incident provokes panic among members of the screaming public, before he is later seen being pulled back into the room he tried to jump from.

The firefighters who rescued the man then marshalled him down to the ground floor away from danger.

A woman who witnessed the scene told of how the group of people down below had begun yelling at the man to hold on to the ledge while authorities were scrambling to come to his aid.

She said: "If the firefighter had let go of the man, the man would be dead. All the people downstairs were shouting 'hang in there'."

Sun Deliang, chief of the squadron, said their rescue attempts were initially unsuccessful due to the man being "resistant" before having to resort to desperate measures to haul him back inside.

"We were ten steps away from the man. He was quite resistant then and kept us from approaching him.

"I couldn't exert my full strength as my body was dangling half outside. I could only use my two arms to grab him and I just couldn't find any other strength.

"Finally, I pressed my head against the window. My head went blank then, and I felt that my final effort was through faith under such an extreme situation."