Two window washers were rescued at One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon after a snapped scaffolding cable left them dangling outside the 68th floor for over an hour.
The two workers were trapped on the south side of the the 1,776-foot-tall building, before being rescued by firefighters who cut through the building's glass windows to reach them.
Rescuers attached cables to the stranded men and guided them inside the building as the dramatic rescue played out live on local news broadcasts.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a previously scheduled press conference in a nearby public school, confirmed that two men had been "saved and secured." The men were suffering from mild hypothermia but were uninjured following the ordeal.
Dozens of vertigo-inducing images emerged from the scene showing the scaffolding dangling about halfway up the skyscraper prior to the dramatic rescue.
Window washing platform collapsing on 1 WTC bldg - just drove by pic.twitter.com/NZIsno6vNQ— Zachary Prensky (@Zackfoot) November 12, 2014
Happening right now...never a dull day in the office scaffolding incident and I think I saw 3 people hanging on it A photo posted by @its_gari_with_an_i on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:25am PST
Rescuers cut through two layers of glass using diamond saws, according to New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
Firefighters taking part in rescue efforts tweeted the view from inside the 68th floor as they prepared to cut through the window. The scaffolding could be seen directly outside. At one point, a second scaffold was being lowered down the building to help with rescue efforts.
Now: #FDNY rescuing workers trapped on scaffolding outside 1 World Trade Center. View from the 68th floor. pic.twitter.com/3c7Oi8EZPD— FDNY (@FDNY) November 12, 2014
A separate rescue team on the roof of the building helped to secure workers with a rope before the men were brought in through the window. The window washers were able to keep in contact with firefighters on the 68th floor by using a two-way radio that was lowered to them.
Now: NYPD ESU and PAPD ESU securing scaffolding @1worldtrade Great work by both Units and #FDNY #OEM pic.twitter.com/hrE2WRkiBj— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) November 12, 2014
Authorities were not unprepared for this type of emergency. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns and manages the building, and the FDNY had drilled for a similar facade rescue just 10 days ago.
Lt. Billy Ryan, one of the FDNY firefighters who took part in the operation, was asked by journalists if it was emotional to be working at One World Trade Center. Ryan is a member of FDNY Rescue 1, which serves lower Manhattan, and lost nearly half of its members on Sept. 11, 2001.
"It's business. The task at hand is what you worry about," Ryan said.
The two men were identified by the 32BJ SEIU property services workers union, of which they are both members, as Juan Lizama and Juan Lopez. The union thanked first responders for their efforts.
Thank you to first responders, @FDNY, for their work to rescue our window cleaners at 1 #WorldTradeCenter— 32BJ SEIU (@32BJ_SEIU) November 12, 2014
The first tenants began moving into One World Trade Center last week. Conde Nast employees moved into the building on Nov. 3, but their offices are located much lower in the building. The 68th floor, where rescue workers staged the operation, is still under construction.
Close up of the window washer. pic.twitter.com/axkCoYXIN5— Georgetown Jack (@GTWNJACK) November 12, 2014