Boy, 3, dies after falling 29 storeys from New York City apartment block balcony as his mum screamed ‘my baby, my baby’
A TODDLER has tragically died after falling from the 29th floor balcony of a New York apartment building.
The three-year-old’s distraught mother reportedly screamed “my baby, my baby” from the street below as the tragic incident unfolded on Saturday.
Police responded to a 911 call at the Taino Towers residential complex in Harlem at around 11:10 a.m where they discovered the tot’s lifeless body on scaffolding on the third floor.
The boy, who was wearing a diaper and a yellow T-shirt, was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, the authorities said.
“We believe the child exited through a window, but exactly how that occurred is under investigation at the time,” a police spokesman said.
Witness accounts from neighbours described hearing a “boom” and “thump” as the toddler plummeted to his death, according to the NY Post.
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The toddler’s mother reportedly yelled and wailed in grief from the ground as she was later consoled by on hand emergency staff.
The father, who was thought to be in the apartment at the time of the incident, attempted to climb onto the scaffolding to retrieve his son, but was unable to do so, witnesses say.
A neighbour told the outlet that she heard “a big fight” between adults coming from the 29th balcony and less than ten minutes later there was “thump.”
“When you look out the terrace you see the baby’s body. He was in his diapers and T-shirt,” she said.
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“Then you hear screams,” she added. “I think the mom was screaming and I looked and the baby was in the scaffolding.”
She also claimed the family has a history of domestic violence issues in the family, but the incident is being treated by police as accidental.
New York City lawmakers stipulate that owners of buildings with three or more apartments have to install window guards if a child aged three years or younger lives there or if a tenant or occupant requests them.
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It is unclear if window guards were installed at the particular apartment in the Harlem complex.
Cops confirmed the child’s death is under “active investigation” and are speaking to two individuals who were inside when the boy fell.