Christchurch-raised aspiring actor Eitan Djiji remains on life support this morning after being rescued from his blazing Los Angeles home.
The Los Angeles County-USC Medical Centre told NZPA the 14-year-old former Prebbleton School pupil was in a "grave" condition.
Eitan was pulled unconscious from the top floor of his family's burning two-storey house after his mother, father and younger sister fled the early morning blaze.
A Christchurch family friend said yesterday the family didn't think Eitan would survive.
"It's the worst thing that you can imagine."
Eitan's mother Pauline, 50, declined medical treatment, his father, Gigi Djiji, 58, a building contractor, was treated for burns at the scene, and sister Maya, 12, was taken to hospital with burns and respiratory problems.
Medical Centre spokeswoman Rosa Saca said Mrs Djiji was shuttling between visiting her son at County-USC and her daughter, in a stable condition at Providence Tarzana Medical Centre.
Eitan was due to start at the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts in downtown Los Angeles in few months.
The friend said the family had moved to the United States about four years ago.
Eitan featured in a 2008 comedy film My Homework Ate My Dog, about a kid who never does his homework, and has also performed as a singer and stand-up comic.
