Sale Tuinasakea Soko says she is not surprised about her nephew’s heroic act after he saved a man from leaping over a 35ft wall at a railway station in London.

Francis Tuinasakea, a former British Army soldier now railway worker, was working overnight at the London Bridge station, when he came across a man running across the tracks and trying to jump.

Ms Soko said Mr Tuinasakea was a daring and very athletic child growing up in Nabua, Suva.

He went to live with Ms Soko’s family when he was a child after his mother went to work on an island resort.

He is originally from Natokalau in Ovalau.

Ms Soko said: “He always wanted to be a soldier. He applied to join the Fiji Military Forces but he failed. Then, he applied to join the British Army and got through,” said emotional Ms Soko.

She said they didn’t know about his heroic act until he called yesterday morning trying to tell them something but then the connection was cut off and the family was still waiting for him to call back.

“Even if there was a fire, Francis was the kind of person who would risk his life to save others, he was just that kind of person,” said a proud Ms Soko.

Mr Tuinasekea, a former St Marcellin Primary School and Marist Brothers High school student, was also praised by his former school mates who posted comments on social media.

An ex-scholar from St. Marcellin Primary School recalls Mr Tuinasakea as a friendly guy who was also a sprinter in school.

Mr Tuinasakea joined the British Army in 2008 and was also deployed to Afghanistan. He now works at a railway station in London.

His heroic action, caught on camera by a colleague, has gone viral.

In an interview with the Evening Standard newspaper in London, Mr Tuinasakea said his military training helped him to save the guy’s life.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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