Ten hours to rescue 57 stone man
It took a team of New York firemen and paramedics ten hours to rescue a naked 57 stone man known as Tiny after he fell down in his bedroom.
Neighbours, concerned that they had not seen Elodoro Villafane, entered his apartment yesterday morning. They found him sprawled naked on his bedroom floor.
They tried to help but couldn’t budge him so called for the emergency services.
By the time firemen arrived, 46-year-old Tiny had managed to haul himself into a kneeling position next to his bed.
Paramedics gave him oxygen as firefighters tried to figure out a way to get him out to the ambulance.
Reinforcements were called and the ten strong team of rescuers first dressed Tiny, whose legs were in such pain he couldn’t stand.
Fire Chief Carl Jost told the New York Daily News that they decided to use two mechanical lifting devices equipped with slings known as tripods.
The tripods were carefully set up in the cramped, two room apartment. The slings were secured under Tiny’s arms and around his waist, allowing rescuers to hoist him up and move him toward the front door.
At the bedroom doorway, he was shifted to the second hoist, transported across that room and transferred back to the first hoist, which was now set up by the next door.
The painstaking leapfrog process continued until he was out of his apartment, down the hallway and at the entrance to his building. There he was lowered into a cargo net and carried down 10 steps to the waiting ambulance.
It was 10 hours after the rescue operation began and dark when Tiny finally arrived in hospital.
‘‘We tried to keep his spirits up,’’ Jost said. ‘‘We were trying to give him moral support. But he couldn’t walk, and he was upset.’’
Hospital officials said Tiny was in guarded condition last night with continuing breathing problems.
