Man's desperate attempt to escape high-rise inferno

A man was filmed making a desperate attempt to escape a burning 23rd-floor apartment of a residential building by hanging off the side of it.

In the video the apartment is already going up in flames as the man hangs off the side, trying to find a way to move away from the blaze.

In the footage shot in southwestern China's Chongqing on December 13, the man dangles from the side of the building as the fire inside rages.

Debris begins to fall off the apartment and the cladding starts to melt and drip down on to him.

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Barefoot, the man attempts to break the glass of the apartment below his by kicking at the window.

But firefighters soon arrive to break the glass and pull the man inside.

The man reportedly was lucky enough to have only suffered scratches and was sent to hospital.

After half an hour, the fire was extinguished. The reason for the fire is under investigation.