• U.S.
  • Accident

Workers Rescued From Dangling Scaffold at 1 World Trade Center

1 minute read
Window washers trapped alongside the Freedom Tower
A window washer is seen being rescued by NYPD and NYFD after his carriage came dislodged from his cables along side the One World Trade Center in New YorkCity on Nov. 12, 2014.Jason Szenes—EPA
By Alexandra Sifferlin
Updated: | Originally published: ;

Two window washers were rescued from a scaffold whose cable snapped Wednesday afternoon high above the ground outside 1 World Trade Center in New York City.

Rescue workers were able to save Juan Lizama, 41 of New Jersey and Juan Lopez, 33, of the Bronx shortly after 2p.m. ET after a rescue team cut through glass windows of the 1,776-foot tower and pulled the two veteran window washers through the hole. According to CNN, the two were taken to Bellevue Hospital to receive treatment for mild hypothermia upon their rescue.

The cable snapped around 1 p.m. due to a “scaffolding malfunction,” a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told reporters. FDNY first-responders arrived at the skyscraper after workers became trapped on scaffolding more than 60 floors above the ground.

See These Dramatic Rescues of the Past

Stranded window washers hang on the side of One World Trade Center
Stranded window washers hang on the side of One World Trade Center in New York on Nov. 12, 2014.Brendan Mcdermid—Reuters
Rescuers look down at window washers trapped on the Hearst Tower in New York on June 12, 2013.
Rescuers help window washers trapped on the Hearst Tower in New York in 2013.Brendan McDermid—Reuters
A Las Vegas Fire Department high-angle rescue worker lowers down to window washers who are stranded outside the 35th floor of the Vdara Hotel at CityCenter in Las Vegas on July 25, 2012.
A Las Vegas Fire Department high-angle rescue worker works to rescue window washers stranded outside the 35th floor of the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas in 2012.John Locher—AP
A local construction worker, suspended from a crane, rescues a woman who fell into the Des Moines River in Des Moines, Iowa on June 30, 2009.
A local construction worker, suspended from a crane, rescues a woman who fell into the Des Moines River in Des Moines, Iowa in 2009. Mary Chind—AP
Firefighter Billy Mitchell rescues an injured construction worker in Uptown Charlotte on Feb. 23, 2005.
Firefighter Billy Mitchell rescues an injured construction worker in Charlotte, N.C., in 2005.Patrich Schneider—AP
Firefighters rescue two construction workers dangling 8 floors off the ground from a building in Midtown Manhattan in New York city on Oct. 12, 1999.
Firefighters rescue two construction workers dangling 8 floors off the ground from a building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City on Oct. 12, 1999.Susan Watts—New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News/Getty Images
A firefighter dangles from a helicopter to rescue a stranded crane operator on April 12, 1999 in Atlanta.
A firefighter dangles from a helicopter to rescue a stranded crane operator in Atlanta in 1999.Erik S. Lesser—Getty Images
Bronx fireman Jesse Johnson and fellow firefighter climb an aerial ladder to rescue a cat who has been caught in the top of a tree for 26 hours in Bronx, New York City.
Firefighters in the Bronx borough of New York rescue a cat that was stuck in a tree for 26 hours in 1962.Ossie LeViness—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

1 World Trade Center is the nation’s tallest skyscraper, surpassing Chicago’s Willis Tower which stands at 1,451 feet.

— With additional reporting by Josh Sanburn and Maya Rhodan

Read next: One World Trade Center Opens Its Doors

 

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com