In the latest in a line of dangerous teen mishaps caused by online viral challenges, a TikTok stunt went wrong on Monday, February 16 when a 16 year-old boy found himself 50 feet down a shaft in the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge and trapped for hours until first responders could retrieve him.
The incident was reported to the New York Fire Department at approximately 9 p.m. Multiple emergency response vehicles quickly cordoned off the bridge's Manhattan-bound lower level as they scrambled to save the young man.
The FDNY and NYPD worked in tandem utilizing ropes to pull the teen out of one of the bridge stanchions, where he had reportedly been trapped for at least three hours after falling while climbing the bridge for a social media stunt.
“This was a confined space operation, which is a very difficult, time-consuming, man power-intensive operation,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Nicholas Corrado of the complex rescue operation, which involved multiple pieces of equipment and 75 emergency responders.
When extracted from from the shaft, the victim was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where his is currently listed in stable condition.