Israeli emergency crews on Monday rescued a teenage boy who had been trapped for roughly nine hours atop a crane suspended over a high-rise building in Jerusalem.
Channel 12 News reported that the 15-year-old, stranded on a small platform hanging from the crane’s hook atop a 36-story building, phoned Fire and Rescue Services himself, reportedly telling them: “I need help, I’m stuck. I wanted to see the view.”
Petty Officer Eyal Cohen, deputy commander of the Jerusalem District Fire and Rescue Station, said the boy had climbed to a height of about 328 feet (100 meters) around midnight, slipped and was “miraculously” stopped by a counterweight.
“He screamed throughout the night,” Cohen said. “The report came in the morning, and crews from the Ha’uma Station rescued him professionally. Only by a miracle did he make it out alive.”
Rescuers from the Jerusalem District’s Special Rescue Unit were dispatched with additional personnel after the call came in. They rigged rope systems on the crane, navigated obstacles and a difficult angle, reached the boy and secured him safely.
He was lowered to the ground in good condition and handed over to medical and police crews for evaluation, authorities said.
The incident took place at the same tower where a 20-year-old man fell to his death during a large Haredi demonstration against military conscription about a month ago, according to Israeli media reports. The Oct. 30 incident was reportedly a suicide. Authorities said they do not suspect Monday’s event was a suicide attempt.
“This was a very complex rescue, both because of the great height and the difficult angle of the crane,” Lt. Cmdr. Shai Nehemia, commander of the Ha’uma station, told Channel 12 News. “The fighters acted with discretion and professionalism to construct a rope system that enabled safe access to the boy and his rescue.”
