A girl who uses a breathing machine has been rescued from wreckage after her house was tossed and destroyed by a tornado in the United States.
The girl's mother, Dea Castellanos, described hearing the rain and wind outside as she sat on her living room couch in Arabi, Louisiana.
The next thing she knew, the entire house began spinning while her daughter, who has muscular dystrophy, was in another room.
Ms Castellanos said she could feel the house whip through a full rotation, and she wound up in a bedroom.
Tossed about nine metres from its lot, the one-storey house crashed down in the middle of a street, she said on Wednesday through a translator during an interview with The Associated Press.
Within moments, neighbours said they saw the girl's parents climbing out of the wreckage, calling frantically for help.
Their daughter was still in her bedroom inside the rubble, calling for her mum.
Neighbours call for backup after house destroyed
Neighbour Chuck Heirsch said he called emergency services after he saw the family trying to get to the girl.
"They were already traumatised from taking that Wizard of Oz ride," Mr Heirsch said.
Firefighters quickly arrived and carried the daughter out in a blanket.
An ambulance took the girl to the hospital, where she was operated on overnight, Ms Castellanos said.
Muscular dystrophy patients commonly use CPAP machines to assist with respiratory function.
Girl on the road to recovery
Describing the rescue, St Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis said the hospitalised girl was "doing fine".
Friends and relatives helped Ms Castellanos clean out what belongings could be saved from the shattered home, like clothes and mementos, on Wednesday.
One of the birds that Ms Castellanos kept as a pet was standing on the floor, scattered debris all around.
Ms Castellanos said she was thankful for everyone who had come to help with the clean-up, bringing food, garbage bags and work gloves.
ABC/wires
