Real Life Superhero

Thai 'Spider-Man' Saves Boy in Peril
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(March 24) - An everyday hero became a superhero to save a boy in distress Monday.
Rescue workers got the call when an 8-year-old autistic boy had crawled out onto a third-floor ledge at a Bangkok special needs school, AFP reported. The boy was scared because it was his first day at the school, police said.

After the boy's mother mentioned that the child loved superheroes, firefighter Somchai Yoosabai hustled to his fire station and donned a Spider-Man costume that he kept to wear during school fire drills.
"I told him Spider-Man is here to rescue you, no monsters are going to attack you and I told him to walk slowly towards me as running could be dangerous," Somchai said. The boy then stood and let Sonchai carry him in, AFP reported.

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2009-03-24 11:07:42

Also on the same page under a Java Widget on Survival Stories was the story of:

A 93-year-old Japanese man has been certified as a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tsutomu Yamaguchi, here in an undated photo, was in Hiroshima where the first bomb was dropped in 1945. He suffered serious burns, but returned to Nagasaki where a second bomb was dropped days later.

It is amazing and a miracle that humanity has survived this long after all our inhumanities to each-other and natural disasters.

--- Tsutomu Yamaguchi gazes at the booklet which fails to mention his exposure to two atomic bomb attacks, in Nagasaki on Oct. 31. (Mainichi)

Here are some other news stories about Tsutomu Yamaguchi:

Japan Confirms First Double A-Bomb Survivor

1:08pm UK, Tuesday March 24, 2009

A Japanese man has been confirmed as the first person to have survived both US atomic bombings at the end of World War II. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was already recognised as having survived the Nagasaki bombing, on August 9, 1945. And now he has been confirmed as a surivor of the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier. The "hibakusha", or radiation survivor, was three kilometres from ground zero in Hiroshima on a business trip when the bomb hit. He was seriously burnt on the left-side of his upper body and spent the evening in the city. He then returned to his home city of Nagasaki, just a day before the second atomic bomb attack. Four days after the bombing he was exposed to residual radation while searching for his relatives. Nagasaki city official Toshiro Myamoto said: "As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognised as a survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki." "It's such an unfortunate case, but it is possible there are more people like him." (Read On: Here).

Japanese Man Certified as Double A-Bomb Victim
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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TOKYO — A 93-year-old Japanese man has become the first person certified as a survivor of both U.S. atomic bombings at the end of World War II, officials said Tuesday.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi had already been a certified "hibakusha," or radiation survivor, of the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki, but has now been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as well, city officials said.

Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city. He suffered serious burns to his upper body and spent the night in the city. He then returned to his hometown of Nagasaki just in time for the second attack, city officials said.

"As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognized as a survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Nagasaki city official Toshiro Miyamoto said. "It's such an unfortunate case, but it is possible that there are more people like him."

Certification qualifies survivors for government compensation — including monthly allowances, free medical checkups and funeral costs — but Yamaguchi's compensation will not increase, Miyamoto said.

Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.

Yamaguchi is one of about 260,000 people who survived the attacks. Bombing survivors have developed various illnesses from radiation exposure, including cancer and liver illnesses.

Details of Yamaguchi's health problems were not released.

Thousands survivors continue to seek official recognition after the government rejected their eligibility for compensation. The government last year eased the requirements for being certified as a survivor, following criticism the rules were too strict and neglected many who had developed illnesses that doctors have linked to radiation.

See also: Tsutomu Yamaguchi.