2 workers rescued from dangling scaffold at New York City’s World Trade Center

Ray Sanchez, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 2:48 PM EST, Wed November 12, 2014
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2 workers rescued from dangling scaffold
01:46 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

NEW: The two workers were rescued from a collapsed scaffold high above lower Manhattan

The scaffold collapsed after a cable snapped at One World Trade Center, authorities say

The tower is the country's tallest building at 1,776 feet

CNN  — 

New York emergency crews rescued two workers who were trapped in a window-washing scaffold dangling perilously at the 69th floor of the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center building in lower Manhattan, authorities said Wednesday.

The workers were tethered and uninjured inside the apparatus, the city’s fire department said earlier.

Television images showed the scaffolding dangling precipitously at a sharp angle. Images on Twitter from the fire department showed the scaffold as seen from inside the tower, with New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Officials said New York Police Department emergency services units were on the scene and rescue workers had been able to communicate with the two window washers. They work for a company called Upgrade, according to Erica Dumas, a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The company had no comment.

New York emergency crews rescued two workers trapped on a window-washing scaffold dangling perilously at the 69th floor of the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center building in lower Manhattan on Wednesday, November 12, authorities said.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
New York emergency crews rescued two workers trapped on a window-washing scaffold dangling perilously at the 69th floor of the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center building in lower Manhattan on Wednesday, November 12, authorities said.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Construction workers look up at the scaffold.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
Construction workers look up at the scaffold.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Officials said New York Police Department emergency services units were on the scene and rescue workers had been able to communicate with the two window washers.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
Officials said New York Police Department emergency services units were on the scene and rescue workers had been able to communicate with the two window washers.
Kathy Willens/AP
The partially collapsed scaffolding hangs from One World Trade Center. The workers were tethered and uninjured inside the apparatus, the city's fire department said.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
The partially collapsed scaffolding hangs from One World Trade Center. The workers were tethered and uninjured inside the apparatus, the city's fire department said.
Kathy Willens/AP
Authorities said a cable on one side of the scaffold snapped, leaving it hanging by only one cable. "They were slowly going up, washing the windows. ... Suddenly (the scaffold) was dangling on one side," Reginald Moye, who watched the incident unfold from the 24th floor of a nearby hotel, told CNN.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
Authorities said a cable on one side of the scaffold snapped, leaving it hanging by only one cable. "They were slowly going up, washing the windows. ... Suddenly (the scaffold) was dangling on one side," Reginald Moye, who watched the incident unfold from the 24th floor of a nearby hotel, told CNN.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A woman looks out from a car at the dangling scaffold.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
A woman looks out from a car at the dangling scaffold.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Rescue crews had to cut through glass to pull the workers to safety, the New York Police Department told CNN.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
Rescue crews had to cut through glass to pull the workers to safety, the New York Police Department told CNN.
FDNY
Rescue workers used a diamond saw to tear through three layers of glass panes -- the thickest nearly 2 inches -- in order to pull the workers to safety about 2:15 p.m., authorities said.
Scaffolding rescue at WTC —
Rescue workers used a diamond saw to tear through three layers of glass panes -- the thickest nearly 2 inches -- in order to pull the workers to safety about 2:15 p.m., authorities said.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Scaffolding rescue at WTC

Rescue crews cut through the glass window where the scaffolding was hanging and pulled the two workers safely inside the tower, CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reported.

Authorities said a cable on one side of the scaffold snapped, leaving it hanging by only one cable.

“They were slowly going up, washing the windows… suddenly (the scaffold) was dangling on one side,” Reginald Moye, who watched the incident unfold from the 24th floor of a nearby hotel, told CNN.

At 1,776 feet tall, the building surpassed Chicago’s Willis Tower – at 1,451 feet – as the nation’s tallest building.