THIS is the horrific moment a man plunges 10 metres to his death after forgetting his keys inside his third-storey home.

The 52-year-old lost his balance as he tried to lower himself down to his flat from the roof using a rope.

He managed to gain a foothold on the floor above but lost his grip as he scaled down the outside of the building in Ecuador and began to tire as he dangled in midair.

A neighbour filming his perilous attempt to avoid paying a locksmith to force entry to his apartment predicted the fatal outcome seconds before his fall.

He can be heard telling his wife in a running commentary as he records the man climbing down the building with his mobile phone: “He could easily fall at any moment.

“He’s reached a window and now he’s got to get to the floor below.

“Why doesn’t he call the fire brigade or a locksmith or the owner of the flat?

“He could wear himself out and plunge to the ground at any time.”

His wife bursts into tears and he points his mobile in another direction after filming the dramatic fall and gasping: “He’s fallen. He’s fallen on the ground. He’s killed himself, he’s killed himself.”

The sound of him crashing on the ground three floors down can be heard over the woman’s tears.

The video is understood to have been recorded on January 11.

Police confirmed a man died around 6pm that day after losing his balance as he tried to reach his home with the help of a neighbour.

The victim has not been named.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

One unsympathetic online commentator said: “Amazing that someone was stupid enough to do this and found someone stupid enough to help.

“They were a match made in Heaven. This is why locksmiths were invented.”