Three brave souls employed to wash the outsides of skyscrapers found themselves in a hair-raising situation when their platform collapsed in the midst of their routine.
The terrifying event was said to have occurred at around 8:30 am at the Capitol One building on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, La. on Friday.
According to Jorge Gomez, there was simply no warning that their platform was getting ready to go. One moment, he and fellow window washers Willis Everidge and Kevin Hines were doing their jobs. The next, the three had only their safety harnesses keeping them from falling to their deaths.
“It happened so fast, in about two seconds,” said Everidge. “There was no warning. It was like jumping out of an airplane.”
The poor men were left dangling approximately 49 stories up in the air, hoping that their harnesses proved to be more sturdy than their platform.
Two window washers rescued from Capital One Bank bldg. after scaffolding breaks loose @wdsu @nolagina6 #Nola #Nofd pic.twitter.com/DCaEkSJRJo
— Andy Cunningham (@CunninghamWDSU) April 25, 2014
58-year-old Gomez said during the incident he simply prayed, “Dear Jesus, please don’t let me die.”
The three Acme Window Cleaners employees were left in their precarious position for roughly twenty minutes. Finally, rescuers were able to reach the trio, smashing windows inside the Capital One building in order to pull them to safety.
The three men were carefully examined following their life-threatening experience, but found to be unharmed by the incident. Unsurprisingly, they were rather shaken by what had just happened.
Window-washers rescued after platform collapses — http://t.co/COP6KJlE4P pic.twitter.com/J9mjgqCBrP
— RTV6 Indianapolis (@rtv6) April 25, 2014
Even though this event was scary, it apparently has not colored their view of their dangerous occupation. Gomez and Everidge both revealed that they’ve been washing windows for decades.
Both men say that they will continue to wash windows.
Gomez stated that he’ll likely be back to work on Monday.
As for the safety harness that saved his life, Gomez admits that he’s relied on the same one for about 17 years. No doubt he’s thankful that it was up to the task when it really counted.
Image via Youtube