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Two window cleaners were trapped 144 metres from the ground on the 48 floor in their platform at the front of the 'DC-Tower,' Austria's highest skyscraper, in Vienna.
Two window cleaners were trapped 144 metres from the ground on the 48 floor in their platform at the front of the ‘DC-Tower,’ Austria’s highest skyscraper, in Vienna. Photograph: MA 68 LICHTBILDSTELLE/EPA Photograph: MA 68 LICHTBILDSTELLE/EPA
Two window cleaners were trapped 144 metres from the ground on the 48 floor in their platform at the front of the ‘DC-Tower,’ Austria’s highest skyscraper, in Vienna. Photograph: MA 68 LICHTBILDSTELLE/EPA Photograph: MA 68 LICHTBILDSTELLE/EPA

Bad day at work: window cleaners stuck 144 metres up Austria's tallest tower

This article is more than 9 years old

Two window cleaners washing the DC Tower 1 in Vienna were stranded after the cradle they were in slipped. Is this the stuff of your worst nightmares?

If you’re scared of heights, look away now.

It was an extremely bad day at work for two window cleaners in Austria when they were left stranded outside the 48th floor of the DC Tower 1 in Vienna with their cradle at a precarious angle. Pictures released this week show the cleaners stuck 144 metres from the ground, with one close-up appearing to show a worker in a fluorescent jacket clinging to a raised edge on the platform.

This image shows how far up the window cleaners were when their platform slipped. Photograph: BERUFSRETTUNG WIEN/EPA Photograph: BERUFSRETTUNG WIEN/EPA

According to reports, the two emerged from the ordeal unhurt, despite being stranded hundreds of metres above the ground in strong winds. Around 30 firefighters helped to rescue the window cleaners and secured the cradle with extra cables.

Not to panic any window cleaners reading, but this isn’t the first time an accident of this type has happened. Last year, firefighters in New York rescued two window cleaners stuck outside the 45th floor of the Hearst Building in Manhattan.

These photos sent a shiver down our spines for sure – is this the most terrifying work accident you can think of? Or have you experienced worse?

Let us know in the comments below.

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