A New York cabbie says his wife and four young children remain on ventilators after a fire tore through the Bronx apartment building where they live, killing 17.
Mohamed Kamra, 58, said his wife Fotoumatia Fofana, 30, and children Mariam, 8, Jabu, 6, Abubakary, 3, and ten-month-old baby Ceesay are in induced comas after they managed to escape the smoke. But they suffered such severe smoke inhalation that they cannot breathe independently, and are all hooked up to ventilators in hospital.
Kamra, who resides in the fifteenth floor of the Twin Parks North West with her family, was working in New Jersey at the time of the tragedy, he told the New York Post.
After hearing about the tragedy, Kamra rushed his two-hour drive home, desperate to find out about his family.
'I thank Allah that my family made it, and I am hopeful with his continued blessing… they will make a full recovery,' Kamra told the outlet.
When he arrived at the Twin Parks North West complex, he was told by FDNY crew that while all his family members had been rescued, they had been separated and taken to different hospitals to treat their injuries.
Kamra said his wife is the most affected, but some of his children are showing signs of progress in the recovery.
'Jabu moves her head up and down when you ask her questions. I said to her, 'Jabu, I love you. Do you love Daddy?' And she will shake her head,' the father-of-four said.
Fotoumatia Fofana (left) and her child, ten-month-old Ceesar, right, are connected to ventilators unable to breath on their own, because of smoke inhalation, her husband said
Fatoumatia's other children, Mariam, 8, Jabu, 6, Abubakary, 3, are also connected to ventilators
Kamra, pictured right, said he was frantic to find his family after he arrived to the Bronx apartment complex
Kamra's wife and son Jabu were taken by first responders to St Barnabas and then transferred to Cornell Hospital, while Mariam, Abubakary, and baby Ceesay were taken to Jacobi.
The distraught father said he has spent the past few days running from one hospital to the other, checking on his children and wife and praying for their recovery.
Kamra was not immediately told where Jabu and his wife had been taken.
'I was frantic when I could not find my wife and Jabu,' he recounted. 'I am doing OK, taking it day by day.'
Kamra's wife, Ftoumatia, is in critical condition, he said.
He said she prioritized her children as she struggled to make it to safety in the pitch-black, smoke-filled hallways with the help of firefighters.
'I believe she was carrying two and the other two could walk on their own,' Kamra told the Post. 'I know she would put them first, she would take
