Yasleen McDonald, 3, and Lucas Silverio, 19, were rushed to nearby hospitals in critical condition for smoke inhalation. They had also suffered burns over 80% of their bodies.
A little girl trapped in a burning New York building and the teen who ran back in to save her earlier this week have both died, according to a report.
Residents of 725 Garden St. scrambled to get to safety when they found themselves in the middle of a blaze that had erupted at the Bronx apartment building just before 2 a.m. Sunday, officials said.
In the chaos, 3-year-old Yasleen McDonald was separated from her mother and unable to escape the 14th floor, the New York Post reported.
So Lucas Silverio, 19, another resident from the building, dashed back inside, braving the smoke and the flames to try to find little Yasleen, his family told the paper.
“Of course he tried his best,” Luis Moreno, 22, said. “I applaud him.”
Silverio made it to the 14th floor and found Yasleen, but as they tried to escape the floor, both were overcome with smoke and collapsed in the hallway, authorities said.
They were rushed to nearby hospitals in critical condition for smoke inhalation. They had also suffered burns over 80% of their bodies.
Yasleen died Monday and Silverio died Wednesday, relatives and officials told the Post.
“He died bravely,” Moreno said of Silverio. “I wish it could have turned out different.”
Ten others in the building were also hospitalized because of the fire. Authorities have determined the fire, which took more than an hour to get under control, started in a trash compactor on the 14th floor, but what started it was unclear.
The fire remains under investigation.
RELATED STORIES
