Teen Falls Into Queensboro Bridge Shaft During TikTok Stunt
A 16-year-old boy from Long Island fell 50 feet into a shaft of New York City’s Queensboro Bridge on Monday night while trying to film a TikTok video. The teenager, who lives in Lynbrook but is originally from Nassau County, lost his balance and plunged into the internal structure of the bridge, according to police and law enforcement officials.
Emergency responders managed to extract him from the confined space and transported him to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital. He’s currently in critical but stable condition. Authorities have not released his name.
It appears the boy climbed down a ladder into a narrow passageway within the bridge’s buttress and got trapped. Reportedly, he was stuck in there for nearly three hours and showed signs of hypothermia when rescuers reached him. He admitted to the rescuers that he was attempting to film a TikTok stunt.
The extraction operation demanded considerable coordination. Deputy Chief Nicholas Corrado of the New York City Fire Department mentioned that about 75 emergency personnel were involved in the rescue effort. Corrado described the situation as “a confined space operation,” highlighting the difficulty and time-consuming nature of the mission.
During the lengthy rescue operation, helicopters hovered above, and police boats monitored the East River. The NYPD has plans to interview the teenager when he recovers.
Footage shared on an Instagram account linked to the boy showed several young people fleeing the area shortly after the accident. There was a voice in the video that alarmingly shouted, “He’s dead,” while sneakers were visible on the ground.
Other content associated with the profile depicted teenagers entering underground areas and hanging onto the outside of a moving subway car, adding a layer of concern about the types of activities they were engaging in.
The NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs confirmed that the boy had fallen and that paramedics transported him to the hospital, where he now appears to be stable.
