New York: 

lucky: Grace Bergere fell from the chimney shaft of the Westbeth Building. She broke both her legs

A 12-year-old girl miraculously survived a 15-storey plunge after she climbed into the chimney of a building on Thursday.

"My daughter fell down the shaft!" Grace Bergere's father frantically shouted to security at the Westbeth Building shortly after 10.30 pm, an employee there said.

Grace had been playing on the roof and was somehow able to climb the chimney, which is two storeys high.

Then she tumbled down to the basement of the 13-storey structure. "Nobody knows what she was doing up there," the employee said. "It was a scary situation."

Building security called 911, and when the building superintendent took firefighters to the basement, they saw the girl's arm sticking out of a door.
 
They found her covered in soot, but conscious. She became very agitated when fire officials pulled her out of the shaft. Grace suffered two broken legs and head trauma.

"I'm thinking it was stop-and-go as she fell down," a building resident said.

Neighbours said the roof is not a restricted area and that people who live in the building often go up there.
"The roof is never locked," one resident said.

Neighbours said the girl would have had to climb a metal ladder to get to the top of the chimney.