Morbidly Obese Man Hoisted Out Of Home By Crane After Being Trapped For A Year

KEY POINTS

Rescue workers had to demolish the facade of his apartment to gain access
The man, identified as Alain P, had been unable to move from the floor after falling out of bed a year ago
The rescuers were coached to try and help him out

As many as 50 men and a crane had to be employed to rescue a morbidly obese French man who was trapped at his home following an accident that happened last year.

The incident that occurred in the Southern city of Perpignan, saw rescuers relying on an inflatable cushion to lift the patient. The man, identified as Alain P, had been unable to move from the floor after falling out of bed a year ago, said a report by Reuters.

He weighs between 250 and 300 kilos (550 lb to 660 lb).

French rescuers eventually lifted him out of the flat in a large container, after workers demolished the facade of his apartment to gain access.

Though there was an attempt to rescue him last December, it failed after the man refused for fear of losing the flat, rescuers said.

He will be hospitalized for several months as doctors tend to his needs and help him lose body weight.

According to Musthapha Sebanne, a head doctor at Montpellier's emergency services, the rescuers were coached to try and help him out. "He was scared of this extraction. We understand, and we have worked with him to get him in the right frame of mind, there is a form of trust between us," Sebanne said.

In a similar incident in October, Jason Holton, dubbed UK's fattest man, was rescued from his third-story apartment in Camberley, Surrey, in a rescue mission that took seven hours with more than 30 firefighters to complete.

Jason, who weighed over 317 kilos, was bedridden for years, before calling for help. The mammoth operation was so risky that he was warned he might not survive it, said a report by the New York Post.

Jason had termed the rescue an amazing experience because it was the first time in six years he had experienced fresh air.

"I had eaten to a point where I suddenly couldn’t move an inch. I left myself to die and waited for my heart to give up. I felt there was nothing left in life for me," said Horton, who spent $13,000 a year on takeout delivered via a food app.

He was later shifted to a hospital in a special ambulance and treated for lymphedema — a chronic condition that causes water retention and swelling — in his groin and legs.