Window cleaners rescued from 1 World Trade Centre

TWO window cleaners who were stranded 69 storeys above street level when their cradle partially collapsed have been rescued.
Stranded window washers hang from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center. Picture: GettyStranded window washers hang from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center. Picture: Getty
Stranded window washers hang from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center. Picture: Getty

Firefighters cut panes of glass to rescue the pair from the south side of the newly-opened 1 World Trade Centre in New York.

The city’s fire department said the men were tethered and communicating with rescuers during their ordeal.

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Joe Pentangelo, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the building, said it appeared that a cable on the cradle had broken.

Stranded window washers hang from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center. Picture: GettyStranded window washers hang from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center. Picture: Getty
Stranded window washers hang from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center. Picture: Getty

Police official John Miller said the cradle was hanging at “a 75-degree angle”.

The cable apparently snapped at around 1pm local time and the workmen were pulled inside the building at around 2.15pm.

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A firefighter reaches through a cut-out window into a dangling work basket. Picture: APA firefighter reaches through a cut-out window into a dangling work basket. Picture: AP
A firefighter reaches through a cut-out window into a dangling work basket. Picture: AP

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