Window washers trapped on Hearst Building in New York City
Mike Gallagher
EMERGENCY personnel are at the top of New York's Hearst Building where two window washers are stuck after scaffolding collapsed.
The long, metallic scaffold appears to have buckled in the middle, creating a v-shape. The men are at either end of where the scaffolding has buckled. The pair is believed to be 150 metres above the ground.
The men were trapped outside the window of the 45th floor, two stories below the roof.
The trapped window washers are wearing a haess when the collapse happened at 2:40pm (4:40am AEST). First responders have also been able to tie a rope around the men.
About 60 firefighters responded to the scene to try to rescue the men, who are conscious and communicating with responders.
US ABC reports the New York Fire Department as saying the safest way to rescue the workers will be to remove the glass from the building and pull each worker through.
William Seelig, assistant chief of the New York Fire Department, told an ABC affiliate that the trapped workers were stable and were not suffering from any medical conditions.
Special equipment is used to remove the glass and the operation could take a period of time.
The Hearst Building, the first green building in New York City, is 47 storeys tall and is located at 57th street and 8th avenue in midtown New York City. The NYPD has shut down 57th Street from 7th Avenue to 9th Avenue and traffic has been diverted.
It is not clear what caused the accident at this point.
The Hearst Building, located at 300 West 57 Street, is the world headquarters of the Hearst Corporation, which publishes magazines including Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar.
The building, famous for its unusual triangular framing patte and designed by architect Norman Foster, was the first skyscraper approved for construction after September 11, 2001.
An article in The New Yorker at the time said when Mr Foster first submitted his design the first question the building owners asked was: “How are you going to clean those windows?”
