Child struck by plummeting drone at Orlando holiday light show required open-heart surgery

The 7-year-old Florida boy critically injured this past weekend when a drone fell from the sky and struck him at a Christmas holiday show needed open-heart surgery as a result of the incident, a family said Monday.

The incident occurred Saturday in Orlando. 

The drone struck the child in the face and hit his body – electrocuting his heart, a family member to local NBC-TV affiliate WESH.

“The blade cut his mouth, but there’s an actual imprint of the drone on his chest,” the family member also said. 

The child is expected to make a full recovery but will likely remain in the hospital throughout the holidays, according to The New York Post.

The child, being identified because of his age only as Alexander, was hit when drones used to light up Lake Eola Park in red and green for the holiday special collided, then crashed to the ground, the newspaper also reports.

The initial show, run by Sky Elements Drones in partnership with the city of Orlando, went on despite the crash. However, a planned second show two hours later was canceled.