Men left dangling 600ft in the air after New York scaffold collapse
This is the dramatic moment two men were rescued from a maintenance scaffold which had collapsed 45 stories above New York.
The pair were left stranded and helpless for around 90 minutes more than 600ft above the ground near the top of the Manhattan skyscraper.
Fire department officials say workers cut open windows on the 44th floor and pulled the men inside to safety. The workers and a firefighter moved slowly from the scaffold to the opening.
The fire department says it appears one of the scaffold's three motors did not work and it folded after failing to lock. The men were on either side of the scaffold, communicating with firefighters on the roof of the 46-storey Hearst Tower for about an hour and a half before they were rescued.
Firefighter Tom Gayron said: "Once we secured them from the roof, we cut the glass. Other members lowered me out onto the scaffolding and I helped them get back into the building."
The two men remained impressively calm throughout the ordeal, perhaps not surprisingly, given that they routinely dangle from hundreds of feet up as part of their everyday jobs. One spoke on a mobile phone while he waited. The other remained in a seated position.
Rescue workers later said the men were even smiling once first responders arrived, believing from that moment everything was going to be fine.
Assistant Fire Chief William Seelig said the men were in no danger of falling once they had been secured with safety ropes.
They were examined by doctors once inside the building and appeared to be in good condition.
"They were all smiles, thankfully," said paramedic Moses Nelson. "No major injuries – no complaints."
