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11/02/2024 05:28:27 pm

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Emergency Crews Rescue World Trade Center Window Washers Trapped On 68th Floor

Window Washers at the World Trade Center

(Photo : Reuters / Brendan McDermid) Two window washers trapped on a scaffolding and dangling from the 68th level of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York.

Emergency Teams scrambled on Wednesday to rescue two window washers trapped on a platform that was hanging at a dangerous angle from the 68th level of the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York.

The window washers, Juan Lizama, 41, and Juan Lopez, 33, were pulled to safety at 2:15 p.m after emergency crews bore a hole through the three-layer glass using a diamond saw, authorities said. The two workers were then whisked off to Bellevue Hospital Center for mild hypothermia management, CNN reported.

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Fire officials said the two workers were hooked to the apparatus, but one cable became slack, causing the platform to tilt at an almost-vertical angle. Authorities are still probing the incident to find out the cause of the accident.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the NYPD, Port Authority cops, and the New York Fire Department all participated in a rescue drill 10 days ago, but the World Trade Center situation was rather difficult, the report relayed.

"In this case, the glass is three layers thick, and of course, they're 68 storeys up," Nigro recounted. "It does present a little more challenge."

The emergency personnel talked to the trapped workers using a portable radio that they lowered from the roof of the establishment.

Local Port Authority spokeswoman Erica Dumas revealed that the two window washers were employees of a firm called Upgrade, the report detailed.

Tractel, the firm that built and hooked the window-washing rig, has yet to comment on the incident. Last year, scaffolding at the Hearst Tower in Manhattan, which was designed by the same company, collapsed 550 feet above the Manhattan streets and emergency crew rescued two workers from the scene.

The One World Trade Center building, which stands 1,776 feet tall, is currently the tallest building in the country. It beat the height of the Willis Tower in Chicago, which only stands at 1,451 feet.

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