Florida man helps boy escape Miami-area condo rubble

A Florida man helped rescue a young boy who was trapped in the rubble resulting from the fatal collapse of a condo building in the Miami area on Thursday.

Nicholas Balboa told News Nation Now that he had been out walking his dog when the incident occurred.

“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 explained that after the collapse of the building, the area was quiet until he heard the scream of a young child. He said he saw small fingers poking out of the debris and heard a boy say “Can somebody see me?” CNN reported.

It was then that Balboa said that he decided to climb over the rubble to try and 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.

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

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) June 24, 2021

When emergency responders arrived at the scene, Balboa said that he used the boy’s phone flashlight to gain their attention, according to News Nation Now.

Balboa explained that he felt the need to help because “something had to be done,” according to USA Today.

“Especially hearing his voice, knowing that he was young. I knew that he couldn’t have been older than maybe just a preteen,” he said. “I would hope that if I were in a similar position somebody wouldn’t leave me, especially if I was alone.”

The officials were reportedly able to pull the boy out of the concrete, but the boy’s mom was not immediately found according to Balboa.

A local news outlet reported that the boy’s mother was eventually found but later died from her injuries.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) said Friday that at least four people have died as a result of the building collapsing. One hundred fifty-nine are reportedly unaccounted for and 120 have been located, though Cava said that the numbers were “fluid.”