A baby died last Thursday, Oct. 13, in a tragic elevator shaft at a high-rise apartment building in Brooklyn, New York. The baby, recognized as Areej Ali, died when her stroller fell from the 23rd floor down to the 17th floor of a Brooklyn apartment, New York Police officers reported.
Aberaqed Al-Rabah, 21, mother of Areej, was holding Areej's stroller while waiting for the apartment's elevator at the 23rd floor of the Sea Rise complex at Coney Island, Brooklyn, around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, New York police officers reported via Mail Online. When the elevator doors opened up, the stroller was pushed inside by the mom who did not know the elevator car was not even there, the police added.
Specifically, the mother and child plunged down into the open elevator shaft, together falling six stories to the top of the elevator car at the 17th floor, police said to Pix11. Both mother and child were dashed to a hospital; however the infant died later the day, while the mom survived and was treated for her injuries, according to Pix11.
"That's my grandchild," Salah Ali, 70, grandfather of the baby, told CBS New York. "She was like a month old."
The management of the building sent a letter to the occupants telling they were working with police officers to investigate the tragic incident, the Brooklyn News reported. In the letter, the management said that the elevators in all buildings are currently undergoing inspection. It also noted that the safety and well-being of the tenants are their number one priority.
The Department of Buildings said that the elevator where the child died passed inspections in January, according to Brooklyn News. However, many tenants did not agree on this. In fact, tenants have reported in the past several times already that the elevators of the building were not functioning, the Brooklyn News added.
