A 17-year-old girl says she acted on instinct when she pulled an injured teenager from a bonfire in Strabane, County Tyrone. The boy, also 17, had been knocked unconscious by a punch before falling into the fire on Saturday night.
Tianna Patterson said she saw him collapse and fall into the bonfire, and immediately tried to help. “I just reached for him by the neck and pulled him out of the bonfire,” she said. She then used a friend’s phone to call emergency services.
Patterson, an A-level student at Holy Cross College in Strabane, had been at the bonfire with friends. Her mother, Alex, said the family was proud of her and that her quick actions had helped avert what could have been a tragedy.
Independent councillor Paul Gallagher said the boy’s mother was distraught and that her son had suffered severe burns to his face and hands. Gallagher said the teenager would need extensive medical care and face a long recovery.
Police are continuing to search for the person who attacked the boy. No arrests have been made, and officers have appealed for witnesses, including anyone who may have recorded the incident on a mobile phone.
Sources: BBC News UK.