Former Australian child actor Rory Sykes, who was born blind and has cerebral palsy, died on Wednesday in the California wildfires, despite his mother's desperate efforts to rescue her son from their burning Malibu home. died after claiming that he was being “stopped.”
In a post to said.
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce that my beautiful son @Rorysykes passed away in the Malibu fire yesterday,” Sykes said in a post on social media site X (formerly Twitter). .
“My heart is completely broken. Rory Callum Sykes, a British-born Australian living in the United States, a wonderful son, a gift born to me and his grandmother on my birthday, July 29, 1992.”
Ms Sykes said her son, who was born blind and has cerebral palsy, lived in a self-catering cottage on the property.
she said An emergency call to Australian outlet 10 News was unsuccessful.
“He said, 'Mom, leave me alone,' but no mother would leave a child alone. His arm was broken and he couldn't lift him or move him.” Sykes told 10 News.
She said she then drove 500 meters to the nearest fire station to raise the alarm, but was told there was no standing water at the local fire hydrants.
“When the fire department brought me back, his vacation home was completely burnt down,” Sykes told 10 News.
NBC News report A spokesperson for the Las Vergenes Municipal Water Authority denied her claims, saying: “Water service was continuously available to her property and the entire surrounding community and was not interrupted.” .
“Our water system continued to operate and provided firefighters with uninterrupted water throughout the emergency,” the spokesperson said.
Witness firefighters working to extinguish a fire surrounded by smoke and ruins
She said her son's death is not yet included in the official death toll from the Los Angeles fires because cadaver dogs are needed to find his body among the rubble of their home.
The late Australian actor was best known for starring in British TV shows kiddy capers From 1998 to 1999
The two recently established happy charity And he was a “true humanitarian,” his mother said in a eulogy.
