‘Please don’t leave me’: Boy trapped in Florida condo rubble rescued by man walking dog
Nicholas Balboa was walking his dog around midnight when he suddenly felt the ground shake, he told local media. The rumble was soon followed by a loud crash and debris as part of a condo complex in Surfside, Florida collapsed.
“I thought maybe a storm was rolling in, but about 30 seconds to a minute later, another large rumble,” Balboa said. “That’s when it kind of clicked to me that something wasn’t quite right,” Balboa told the News Nation Now network.
Balboa said it was “eerily quiet” as he and another person approached piles of concrete and metal, CNN reported. Police and first responders had not yet arrived when Balboa heard a scream.
What’s being done:: Rescue efforts continue after 12-story condo partially collapses near Miami
Aftermath of the Florida condo crash: ‘Tragedy without precedent’: Condo building partially collapses near Miami
Balboa said he spotted little fingers pop out through the broken concrete and heard a boy’s voice say, “Can somebody see me?”
Balboa said he climbed over rubble to reach the boy.
“He was just saying, ‘Please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me.’ I told him we’re not gonna go anywhere, we’ll be here,” Balboa said.
Rescue efforts continued in Surfside, Florida after part of a 12-story oceanside condo collapsed. (Photo: WPLG-TV)
Balboa said the boy had evidently been sleeping during the collapse, as he was found underneath a mattress and bed frame, News Nation Now reported. Balboa used the boy’s phone flashlight to call for the attention of police officers. Eventually, the officers were able to pull the boy out of the concrete. However, Balboa said the boy’s mother was not immediately found on the scene.
WSVN, a local outlet, reported the boy’s mother was found and later died of her injuries.
Boy rescued from the rubble of a building collapse in Surfside, Florida — near Miami Beach.
Hundreds of first responders are on the scene right now.
Rescue operation continues at 8777 Collins Ave. pic.twitter.com/Hnq7Gd9QW4
Looking back, Balboa said he rushed over the help the boy because he felt “something had to be done.”
“Especially hearing his voice, knowing that he was young. I knew that he couldn’t have been older than maybe just a preteen,” he told News Nation Now. “I would hope that if I were in a similar position somebody wouldn’t leave me, especially if I was alone.”
PULLED FROM THE RUBBLE: @DavidMuir speaks with Nicholas Balboa, who witnessed the aftermath of that deadly building collapse near Miami, Florida, including the moment he saw a young boy waving his hand from underneath the debris. https://t.co/4d8j1jndCIpic.twitter.com/LA752UYjK9
Those unaccounted for: What we know about those missing in the Miami condo building collapse
Early Thursday, the 12-story beachfront condominium building just north of Miami collapsed, killing at least four people.
As of Friday, 159 people remain unaccounted for. Among those missing are are Orthodox Jews from Russia, Argentine Americans and the sister of Paraguay’s first lady.
Late Thursday, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of nearby property owner and various victims, seeking more than $5 million in damages. The suit filed against against the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association Inc. alleges the condominium did not repair structural issues and failed to prevent the collapse.
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