Cameras inside the Brooklyn apartment building that collapsed and killed at least eight people captured the moment a toddler was swept up in the rubble.
Resident Anderson Velez shared the third-floor apartment on Flatbush Avenue with his wife and two children.
The family had only moved into their new home earlier this month after living in a homeless shelter.
The nine-year-old boy can be seen getting some milk out of the fridge while the two-year-old boy plays on the floor.
Anderson’s wife then runs into the room screaming, with the older boy running away from the wall and towards his mum.
The wall then dramatically crumbles.
The dad-of-two told Gothamist: ‘That movement, in my opinion, saved his life.’
But the wall still caved in on top of the toddler, who miraculously only suffered scrapes to his forehead and legs.
Anderson said: ‘His ears were full of dirt, his nose, his little mouth, his back – his entire body was covered in dirt.’
Meanwhile, his wife sustained injuries to her ribs, spine and collarbone, and his nine-year-old son is undergoing surgery.
The family is now being housed in a hotel in Brooklyn.
Anderson said: ‘I am still in shock. The truth is, I’m trying to be strong for my son, but I feel terrible.
‘Everything was going through my mind. I was thinking about my children, hoping they were OK and that nothing serious had happened to them.
‘God heard me because I prayed so much for their health and well-being.’
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