A man has been rescued from the top of a burning building in dramatic fashion by a quick-thinking crane operator in the UK.
The man was working on the roof of the burning building at a construction site in Reading on Thursday afternoon (local time), Sky News reported.
Video on social media showed him surrounded by flames and thick black smoke.
Luckily for the worker, he was spotted by crane operator Glen Edwards, who lowered a metal cage to the building and hoisted him to safety.
“I was no more than 20 metres up in the air and I looked out my left-hand window and saw a guy standing on the corner of the building,” Edwards told the outlet.
AP
The man was rescued from the roof of an under-construction building as thick plumes of dark smoke and flames billowed around him.
“I’d only just seen him and someone said ‘can you get the cage on’, so that was it – I got the cage on and got it over to him the best I could.”
Edwards, 65, said it was a tricky manoeuvre due to the wind.
“I tried to put the cage down between him and the flames, but I was hampered by the wind swirling around there.”
“I would say it was a very close call… but I got the cage down and I managed to get him in there.”
A carpenter nearby said people were clapping as the worker reached the ground.
The crane operator said the rescue was tricky due to the wind.
“He was coughing from the smoke.”
“The crane driver was very fast. He was still in the crane while the building was on fire.”
More than 50 firefighters attended the fire, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Wayne Bowcock said on Facebook.
“I would like to add my thanks to the crane operator for an incredibly skilful rescue under extremely difficult circumstances. Without their actions, we may be looking at an entirely different scenario.”
Two people were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. However, these were not severe cases.
