Late on Thursday, a video of the moment a Saudi man saved a child who was hanging from the top of a mall escalator went viral on social media.

In it, the child, who seems to have been left unattended, is seen walking towards the escalator.

He then reaches out and puts both his hands on one of its moving railings, which quickly lifts him high up into the air.

Moments later, a woman walking nearby spots the child and alerts people who are then seen rushing over to the escalator in a bid to save the youngsters life.

One of them is a man who has now been identified as Khaled Al Shemmari.

Hailed by many as a hero, Al-Shemmari saved the child’s life by bending over the escalator’s railing, pulling him back to safety.

It remains unclear when the incident took place.

Watch the full video of the incident here