MANHATTAN (WABC) — An apparent stunt drew a massive rescue response along the Queensboro Bridge on Monday night.
Video shows first responders carefully working to rescue a teenager who fell into a confined space inside the bridge span.
The entire incident may have started because of a social media trend.
The teen was with friends when the incident happened, but it wasn’t those friends who alerted authorities for help.
“The adrenaline that was felt, it was moving. But this is what we train for,” firefighter Khalid Lee said.
The life-saving mission happened around 9 p.m. Monday as firefighters lifted a 16-year-old boy from the shaft of one of the buttresses.
It was a race against the clock as they searched tower by tower for the teenager until they stumbled upon clues.
“Once I saw the shoe and the blood, I just relayed that information to the rest of the members on the scene so we could all get the ball rolling on what we were going to use to retrieve this victim once we laid eyes on him. He was just mumbling from the severe trauma that he experienced,” Lee said.
Authorities say the boy had fallen about 50 feet down a 3 feet by 3 feet shaft after climbing a section of the bridge over Roosevelt Island earlier in the day as part of a daring social media stunt.
“They set up a rope system from the roadbed and set down what we call a spec-pak, which is a device that we use to paint to package up patients who are in a very confined space,” Lt. Chris Gaulrapp said.
A young woman who knew the teenager learned of the incident around 5 p.m. after a video circulated on WhatsApp.
“I texted them anonymously. I didn’t know really what to do either because I wasn’t there. But I, you know, these kids are panicking. And I was like, if there’s someone in critical danger, I need to help,” the girl said.
She said the teenager was climbing the bridge with a small group of friends who apparently left the teenager alone after he fell down the shaft.
She said those who knew the teenager are praying for his recovery and hope others don’t make the same mistake.
“Call for help for their friends and stay with them and don’t take the course of action that they did,” she said.
The FDNY and NYPD responded to the scene.
Authorities say the teenager is still recovering at the hospital.
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