'Miracle' toddler survives 11-storey fall from balcony in US

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Press Trust of India Chicago
Last Updated : May 14 2014 | 5:49 PM IST
A 15-month-old boy has miraculously survived after a 11-storey fall from his apartment balcony in the US city of Minneapolis due to his young age and a lucky landing spot.
The toddler fell from the balcony of a home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and an anxious crowd of Somali- Americans who live in the area quickly gathered as emergency workers treated him.
The ambulance took him to the hospital on Sunday after the fall, a local community activist Abdirizak Bihi was quoted as saying by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"When people found out he survived, no one could believe it," Bihi said.
Doctors, family and community members are dubbing Musa Dayib "the miracle baby," but the toddler, who is in critical but stable condition, still must recover from some very severe injuries, including fractures and a concussion.
"If you and I fell that far, we would be dead," Dr Tina Slusher from the pediatric intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center was quoted as saying.
"He's a baby and...He happened to land on a very small patch of mulchy area...He's a kid. So 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," she said.
Slusher told the family their child will survive, but the parents remain in shock, Bihi said.
"I'm more concerned about his dad and his mother," he said. "They're devastated. They can't even speak."
Bihi said the child's mother was running errands nearby while his father watched him and his 3-year-old sister.
The father had gone into another room to get something when his daughter ran to him, calling, "'Daddy. The baby fell,'" Bihi said.
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First Published: May 14 2014 | 5:49 PM IST

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