A 19-year-old New York University student is lucky to be alive after surviving a freak accident that left him lodged in between two buildings in Lower Manhattan for two days.
Asher Vongtagu was found around 5 p.m. Sunday evening wedged at the bottom of a narrow shaft between a NYU dorm building and a parking garage located at 80 Lafayette St., fire officials said according to the New York Daily News. It's unclear how he got stuck between the two buildings, however, an NYU public safety officer found Vongtau's cell phone on the 18-story dormitory rooftop and heard his moans coming from the shaft below. Miraculously, he was conscious and alert when he was rescued from the 2-foot-wide shaft.
Responders spent over an hour and a half working to free him. They had to breach a concrete wall to gain access to the sophomore, who is listed in serious but stable condition at Bellevue Hospital. He suffered a fractured head, pelvis and arm and was also dealing with additional injuries to his lungs and spleen, reports ABC News.
"He was conscious, he was moving, he was definitely tired," said Fire Chief Joseph Schiralli
Nineteen-year-old Michael Yablon said he last saw Vongtau at 7 a.m. on Saturday. "I was one of the last ones to see him," Yablon told the Daily News. "He left my room at 7 a.m. Saturday. I texted him later that day but he never responded."
Desperate to find his friend, Yablon and several of Vongtau's classmates begged NYU security officials to check the area.
"They would not have found him for who knows how long, and he probably would be dead right now," said Yablon.
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