Story By Joseph Golder
News Editor Ajda Ender
This is the moment a barber saves a choking customer’s life with the Heimlich manoeuvre after a piece of plum became lodged in his windpipe.
The footage, recorded by a CCTV camera, shows the incident in a barber shop in the city of Nevsehir, in the Turkish province of Nevsehir, on 25th June.
The video shows the customer in the barber’s chair suddenly struggling to breathe before the shop owner rushes to help him.
The man had gone to the salon for a shave when the owner offered him a plum as a courtesy.
This image is a screen grab of the video supplied titled NewsX-BarberManPlum-01.mp4: Security camera footage shows a barber performing the Heimlich maneuver to save a customer who began choking on a plum while waiting for a haircut, Nevsehir, Turkiye, June 25, 2026.
While eating the fruit, a piece slipped into his windpipe and left him unable to breathe.
Realising what was happening, barber Fatih Yildiz first struck the customer on the back in an effort to dislodge the obstruction.
When that failed to work, he moved without delay to the Heimlich manoeuvre.
After a few critical seconds, the trapped piece of plum was forced out and the customer was able to breathe normally again.
Shaken by the ordeal, the customer thanked the barber for saving his life.
The images later drew attention on social media, underlining the importance of first aid given at the right moment.
(Joe Golder/Clipzilla/NX)
