A three-year-old survived falling from a five-storey window in New York and sustained a fracture, authorities said.
The boy, identified by NBC News as Jose, fell from the fifth storey of an apartment in the Bronx, and was caught falling on CCTV footage.
It showed Jose bouncing off an awning of a business below the window, and then on to the sidewalk.
Witnesses told NBC News that the awning appeared to be a life saver for Jose, who has Down’s Syndrome.
He was found by passersby and was cradled before his aunt, covering her face with her hands in apparent disbelief, arrived from the building above.
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She told NBC News that she was home with the toddler’s mother and sister at the time of the fall on Monday, but that they lost track of Jose.
According to the aunt, Jose’s mother feared that he was fatally injured when she realised what had happened, and at first refused to go down on to the sidewalk.
"He was just looking at us in surprise,” the aunt said in Spanish. “He wasn't crying. Just seemed scared as if wondering what was happening.”
A superintendent of the building told NBC News that Jose removed a piece of cardboard separating an air conditioning unit in front of the window, before falling.
He was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he is recovering, and has a fractured femur.
“It's kinda hard to look at something like that happening,” said Hector Nazario, who owns the business awning that Jose bounced off. “It's a miracle the child is still alive, and it could have been worse.”
According to police, the incident was classed as an accident and no charges were filed.
