Nantes: Dramatic rescue of baby from third floor fire captured on film

Dramatic footage on social media reveals how a group of people saved a six-month old baby and its parents from the third floor of a burning building in western France.

The video posted on Facebook and Twitter shows the group climbing up the facade of the blazing property in Nantes to help a young mother and father to safety, after catching their young baby.

The family were trapped by flames in their apartment block in the Bottière district of the city. Alerted by their cries for help, several neighbours tried to enter the building via the stairs, but the smoke was too thick.

"The parents were suffocating," one witness told BFMTV.

With time running out, the group gathered mattresses to offer a soft landing for the child.

"The choice to let go of the baby was the last possible solution. Two more minutes and he would die," the witness said.

"On the third floor, the situation was critical for the couple and their baby. They [the parents] hung him outside as best they could outside, so that he could breathe," one of the rescuers told Ouest-France.

Once the child was safe, members of the group climbed up the front of the building to create a human ladder to help his parents to safety. They were taken to hospital for medical checks.

Firefighters later said nine people were rescued, and no serious injuries were reported.