WILDLY SWINGING BASKET
Two window washers were trapped for nearly an hour on a dangling basket at the top of a 50-story skyscraper in Oklahoma on Wednesday 15 May.
Terrifying footage captured the basket as it swung out of control while firefighters tried to rescue the workers from the Devon Tower in Oklahoma City.
The scaffold, which was dangling from a crane, banged against the sides of the 850-foot building that extended 20 feet above the roof as the men clutched the railing.
Fire chiefs said it appeared the crane stopped working when safety features kicked in because of high winds.
The two men became stranded shortly before 7.45am on Wednesday outside the tower.
The cradle was seen swinging wildly and even broke windows as it continued to spin in the air.
Oklahoma City Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Walker said it was likely the crane’s safety features had ‘kicked in’ because of the ‘high wind gusts that started affecting their operation’.
He said emergency crews had to get representatives from the crane firm on the phone to find out how to override the safety mechanisms to get the crane to move.
‘Our first priority was to stop the cradle from swaying in the wind as much as it was,’ Walker said.
Firefighters on the scene managed to get the crane to centre and lower the arm ‘just a bit’, allowing them to throw ropes out to the two men.
They then brought the basket down to the roof.
The men were pulled to safety at around 8.30 am, an hour in to the ordeal.
Paramedics evaluated the men, who both refused treatment.
There were winds of between 7 and 14mph near ground level in the area, but the speeds were likely to be much higher at the top of the tower, according to Accuweather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
He added that the two spires at the top of the tower would have had a funneling effect, causing the dramatic swaying of the scaffold.
A full investigation into the accident is underway, according to Oklahoma City Fire Capt David Macy.
Terrifying footage captured the basket as it swung out of control while firefighters tried to rescue the workers from the Devon Tower in Oklahoma City
Emergency crews had to get representatives from the crane firm on the phone to find out how to override the safety mechanisms to get the crane to move