A 24-year-old Brazilian construction worker survived after a six-foot metal bar fell from the fifth floor and pierced his head.

Doctors at Rio de Janeiro's Miguel Couto Hospital removed the bar from Eduardo Leite's skull during a five-hour-long operation, the Globo TV network reported.

Hospital spokesman Luiz Essinger said Mr Leite was lucid and showed no ill effects of the operation.

He said "it really was a miracle" that Mr Leite survived.

The bar fell from the fifth floor of a building under construction, went through his hard hat, entered the back of his skull and exited between his eyes.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.