A homeless man narrowly avoided a tragic death after being rescued just moments before being crushed inside a garbage truck in Alicante, Spain.
Heartwarming footage captured firefighters helping the 22-year-old man, identified as Mohamed, descend safely from the top of the dustcart using a ladder.
Despite the terrifying ordeal, he emerged unscathed, though visibly shaken.
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Mohamed later explained that he had been en route to the train station, hoping to travel to Zaragoza where his family resides.
However, on November 28, his journey took a devastating turn when he was allegedly robbed of his phone and rucksack.
Left with nowhere to go, he sought refuge for the night in a waste container.
The following morning, November 29, he was abruptly awakened when the container he had been sleeping in was emptied into a garbage truck.
In an extraordinary stroke of luck, Vicente, the truck’s driver, noticed movement within the vehicle through its camera system just before activating the compactor.
Realizing someone was inside, he stopped the mechanism and immediately contacted local authorities.
Police and firefighters arrived swiftly, using a ladder to pull Mohamed out of the truck.
Once safely on the ground, he was examined for injuries but found to be unharmed.
After providing his details to the police, Mohamed sat on a nearby bench to recover from the shock before continuing on his way alone.
The incident underscores the dangers of seeking refuge in waste containers, a choice often driven by desperation.
Tragically, not all similar cases have a happy ending.
Earlier this year, 24-year-old Argentine student Agostina Rubini Medina likely lost her life after climbing into a rubbish container in Palma de Mallorca.
On October 3, Agostina left her friends after a night out and was last seen heading toward a bus stop.
Authorities believe she climbed into a nearby waste container, which was emptied into a garbage truck shortly afterward.
The truck transported its contents to an incineration plant, and investigators determined that survival through the compactor mechanism would have been impossible.
Evidence, including her blouse found near the container and signals from her phone traced to the Son Reus waste facility, supports the theory that she entered the container voluntarily.
Agostina’s tragic story serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of such environments.
Both cases highlight the importance of addressing homelessness and ensuring greater public awareness of the risks posed by waste disposal systems.
While Mohamed’s rescue offers a rare glimmer of hope, Agostina’s fate stands as a heartbreaking reminder of the precariousness faced by vulnerable individuals.
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SOURCE: Homeless man is saved seconds before being crushed to death in bin lorry
