Highland Towers 'miracle baby' reunites with hero 23 years later

SHE was wrapped in a white cloth when he discovered her from below the rubble of the collapsed Highland Towers in Taman Hillview, Ulu Kelang in 1993.

The chaotic surroundings made it almost impossible to hear her cries.

Nur Hamidah Nadjib was only 14-months-old when she was rescued by one of the firemen who were deployed during the search and rescue mission on that fateful December 11, 1993.

Search-and-rescue personnel, Norizan Saad came in the nick of time to pull Nur Hamidah and her mother, Umi Rasyidah Khoiruman, 43, who was too trapped under the concrete.

Twenty-three years later, Nur Hamidah was reunited with her hero in Kuala Lumpur.

“I only got to know about the tragedy at the age of seven after it was related to me by my mother. When I was in secondary school, I started surfing the Internet to seek information about it.

I stumbled upon so many videos on YouTube, including one that featured a baby in diaper and rescued by a fire personnel.

“I was dumbfounded when I finally learnt that the baby was me ... one of the two sole survivors of the tragedy,” said Nur Hamidah at a press conference here today.

During the tearful reunion, Nur Hamidah and Umi Rasyidah thanked all the search-and-rescue personnel responsible in saving their lives.

The reunion was made possible following Norizan’s wish to meet the baby he had rescued went viral on social media recently.

Norizan’s wish was fulfilled after Nur Hamidah and Umi Rasyidah flew from Surabaya, Indonesia to Kuala Lumpur on March 27.

Norizan, who is now a Senior Superintendent Fire and Rescue Department was not alone when he saved the then-young Norizan and her mother.

Also involved were Fire and Rescue Department officers, Azmi Morah Abas, Mahandran Muniandy and Engku Abdul Jalil Engku Ismail.

“It all started with a special interview about Highland Towers not too long ago. We started wondering how they were doing. I posted my intention to meet them on my Facebook and in a short span of time, the posting went viral

Norizan added that he had managed to track down Nur Hamidah with the assistance from the Fire and Rescue Department IT division.

“We tried contacting her via Facebook, after we verified she was the baby we rescued during the tragedy … we finally managed to track them down,” said Norizan.

Norizan, 46 played a pivotal role in the rescue effort when he pulled her and the mother out from the 12-storey Block A condominium.

The tragedy, occurred after a 10-day torrential rain hit the area, claimed the lives 42 people including 12 foreigners.