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| Two window cleaners survive 12-storey fall from Sydney building | Two window cleaners survive 12-storey fall from Sydney building |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two window cleaners have fallen about 12 storeys from a high-rise building in Sydney’s CBD after a cable reportedly snapped on their platform. | Two window cleaners have fallen about 12 storeys from a high-rise building in Sydney’s CBD after a cable reportedly snapped on their platform. |
| The men, who were in a metal window-cleaning cage, positioned at the top of the building on the intersection of Pitt and Bridge streets, fell when a cable snapped on their platform, according to witnesses. | The men, who were in a metal window-cleaning cage, positioned at the top of the building on the intersection of Pitt and Bridge streets, fell when a cable snapped on their platform, according to witnesses. |
| The accident happened just after 11am on Tuesday. Both men landed on the building’s awning, with many pedestrians rushing to help them before paramedics arrived. | The accident happened just after 11am on Tuesday. Both men landed on the building’s awning, with many pedestrians rushing to help them before paramedics arrived. |
| “We all looked out the window, the cable had snapped and we saw the whole scaffold with two guys plunge straight down ... we heard the thump,” Con Triantafillou, who works in a building across the road, said. | “We all looked out the window, the cable had snapped and we saw the whole scaffold with two guys plunge straight down ... we heard the thump,” Con Triantafillou, who works in a building across the road, said. |
| Triantafillou said one man crashed on to the awning before the cage landed on top of him, while the other man was left dangling by his harness from the awning. He said both men were moving but there was a lot of blood on the cage. | Triantafillou said one man crashed on to the awning before the cage landed on top of him, while the other man was left dangling by his harness from the awning. He said both men were moving but there was a lot of blood on the cage. |
| “A bunch of local pedestrians, thank God, bless their hearts, they came and helped,” Triantafillou said. | “A bunch of local pedestrians, thank God, bless their hearts, they came and helped,” Triantafillou said. |
| Paul Sleiman, who was on the street when the men fell, said: “He ended up being about three metres off the floor. If the harness wasn’t there, he probably would have died. People just rushed towards them. The tough thing was because they were so high up nobody could really help.” | Paul Sleiman, who was on the street when the men fell, said: “He ended up being about three metres off the floor. If the harness wasn’t there, he probably would have died. People just rushed towards them. The tough thing was because they were so high up nobody could really help.” |
| The anchors for the cage, cables still dangling down to the fallen cage @HuffPostAU pic.twitter.com/4c3JCMBQet | The anchors for the cage, cables still dangling down to the fallen cage @HuffPostAU pic.twitter.com/4c3JCMBQet |
| A passing motorist pulled his ute onto the kerb and under the dangling man so he could be stabilised on the vehicle’s roof before emergency crews arrived. | |
| The man, aged in his mid-20s, was treated for back and internal injuries. The other man, aged in his 50s, was treated for lower leg injuries and is in a serious but stable condition after he crashed onto the awning with the cage. | |
| Both men were taken to St Vincent’s hospital in a serious condition, an ambulance spokeswoman said. | Both men were taken to St Vincent’s hospital in a serious condition, an ambulance spokeswoman said. |
| Workplace NSW was notified of the accident. | Workplace NSW was notified of the accident. |