23.05.2012

A lucky escape

Three window cleaners are lucky to be alive after one side of a suspended platform dropped while working on a 20 storey building in Manhattan, New York last month.

The men were working on the 17th floor when one side of the scaffold slipped two storeys before coming to a halt.

Reports suggest all three were wearing harnesses - which would have certainly saved their lives - preventing them from being thrown from the platform.
After a rope descent to the platform fire crews were able to pull them to safety from a 17th floor apartment having forced their way in and removing two windows.
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The suspended platform which dropped while working on a 20 storey building

The three men were relatively unharmed, although one of them was later taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Few details are available as to what exactly failed and caused the incident, but a full investigation was carried out in order to determine the cause.
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A close up of the Fire Fighter and trapped Window cleaner