LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany (CNN) -- Kamil Kaplan faced a horrifying decision as flames engulfed his apartment building: Does he drop his 9-month-old nephew four stories to a policeman or hope the baby boy survives the suffocating smoke?
Onur Celar survived the rescue, but his 2-year-old brother was killed in the fire, along with eight others.
Kaplan chose to drop the boy, Onur Celar -- a dramatic life-saving moment captured in photographs seen around the world.
"It was terrible. I just had to make a decision," he told CNN.
The smoke and flames were becoming unbearable. It was now or never.
Watch Kaplan describe the scene »
"I took the child from my sister, the mother," he said. "She and the father were screaming: 'Don't do it! Don't do it!' But I didn't listen."
He added, "I looked into the eyes of the policeman below, and I knew I could trust him."
The police officer caught the baby, and he is now doing well. But the
parents are still grieving because Onur's 2-year-old brother, Ilyas,
was killed in the blaze -- one of nine people to have died in the fire
that has shocked this German town. Five of the dead are children, officials said.
Watch horrifying images of the burning building »
Onur's father was also badly injured in the fire and remains hospitalized.
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