‘Miracle baby’ falls 11 storeys from US tower block and survives
Doctors hail survival of 15-month-old Musa Dayib who is in hospital recovering from serious injuries following fall from balcony of family apartment on the 11th storey
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 15 May, 2014, 10:10am
UPDATED : Thursday, 15 May, 2014, 10:10am
Agence France-Presse in Washington
The Riverside Plaza apartments in Minneapolis from where 15-month-old Musa Dayib survived an 11-story fall from a balcony. Photo: AP
A 15-month-old US boy has survived an 11-storey fall from a balcony at his parents’ apartment in Minneapolis, Minnesota, local media reported on Wednesday.
Musa Dayib has been nicknamed “the miracle baby” after escaping death despite slipping through the railing and making a perilous fall.
In addition to fractures to both his arms, his backbone and his ribs, Dayib also suffered concussion and is breathing through a ventilator. In critical but stable condition, he is expected to survive.
The boy was apparently saved by his soft landing spot.
“If you and I fell that far, we would be dead,” Tina Slusher said from the paediatric intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Centre, the Star Tribune reported.
“He’s a baby and ... they tend to be more flexible and pliable than you and I would be. Having said that, it’s a real gift from God that he made it because this is a huge fall.”
The Tribune said the boy, from the large Somali American community in Minneapolis, fell from his family’s balcony around 8pm local time on Sunday.
“When people found out he survived, no one could believe it,” said local community activist Abdirizak Bihi, who spent time at the hospital with the family on Monday.
Abdirahim Ahmed, the uncle of the 15-month-old boy, who fell and survived the fall speaks at a community meeting on Wednesday. Photo: AP
The boy’s uncle Abdirahim Ahmed told reporters he was worried about Dayib’s parents.
“I don’t think my brother and his wife will recover from this. They really torture themselves,” he said.
Dayib’s mother was running errands nearby while his father watched him and his three-year-old sister. The father was getting something in another room when his daughter ran over and said her brother fell.
“It took place in less than a minute,” Bihi said, adding that it was the daughter who had apparently opened the balcony door.
Slusher said it was too early to tell whether Dayib would suffer any long-term complications from his big fall, but he would probably be out of the hospital in weeks or months.
“I expect him to survive,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
The apartment building’s owners and managers said the balcony had passed inspection when the 1,303-unit Riverside Plaza underwent a US$65 million renovation in 2011-2012.
About half of the units are equipped with balconies. Residents have suggested installing an extra lock or latch to secure the door that opens to the balconies, according to local media.
