Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Video: Watch the rescue of two Chilean window cleaners left dangling from 21st floor of hotel

It took fire crews an hour to rescue the two men

Jack Simpson
Thursday 27 November 2014 16:18 GMT
Comments

Whatever you do, don’t look down.

That is what two Chilean window cleaners would have been saying to one another, when they found themselves trapped on the 21st floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel in Santiago.

The two men had been cleaning the windows of the glass fronted Crowne Plaza in Chile’s capital, when the platform that they had been standing on gave way.

After nearly an hour, a fire service crew eventually decided to lower the two men down the remaining 20 floors due to there not being a ladder long enough to reach the 21st floor.

The men were taken to hospital for check-ups after reaching stable ground, but it is believed that both men were unharmed as a result of the ordeal.

It is still unclear exactly what led to one of the platforms cables snapping and investigators are currently looking into whether it was due to it not being secured correctly.

This is the second high-profile window cleaning malfunction in the last couple of months.

The two cleaners had to wait 90 minutes before the FDNY was able to rescue them.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in