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Thursday, 11 August 2011

Incredibly traumatised': jumping woman identified

The woman who was photographed jumping from the window of a burning building during the London riots has been identified, British media reports say.

Monika Konczyk, 32, who arrived from Poland in March to learn English, was in her flat above a row of shops on Church Street, Croydon, in south London when fires broke out around her buildings about 9pm on Monday.

Her building rapidly filled up with thick smoke and, unable to escape via its back stairs, Ms Konczyk screamed for help from her window, said Vaz Juresco, the owner of a tattoo parlour next to her flat.

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"You have no idea - the smoke was like a thick cloud. It wasn't just ash but hot rocks and bits of brick. They were spraying out like a shower," he told The Guardian.

Ms Konczyk's sister, Beata Mecaj, initially told her sister to stay indoors after watching the riots unfold on television, but changed her mind and said she should get out.

"Beata and her husband then went to the flat to get her, but could not get into the flat as the furniture shop was on fire," her friend Aleksandra Robak told the Daily Mail.

"Monika didn't want to jump; she thought she was going to die. She was terrified and screaming at her sister that all of her things were in her flat and she didn't want to leave them. She was also very scared of jumping but Beata told her it's better to jump than to die."

Ms Konczyk's jump - into the arms of her rescuers below - was captured by WENN photographer Amy Weston. The image made the front pages of almost all of Britain's daily newspapers the following morning.

But while Ms Konczyk was not injured, Mrs Mecaj said her sister was "incredibly traumatised" by the experience and had become withdrawn.

"She is staying with me at the moment and I'm looking after her," she told the Mail.

"It will take a while for her to get over this. She only came to the UK a few months ago and we are appalled that something like this could happen here.

"We always thought this country was so civilised."

Ms Konczyk's boyfriend, Amar Sharabi, added that she was so stressed "she doesn't want to even leave the house"

 

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