Current:Home > BackA crane operator has rescued a man from a burning high-rise in England-InfoLens
A crane operator has rescued a man from a burning high-rise in England
View Date:2024-12-23 11:51:43
LONDON (AP) — A crane operator played down tributes paid to him on Thursday after he lifted a man to safety from a burning high-rise building in England.
Video from the scene in the town of Reading in southern England showed a man being rescued by a crane cage from the roof of a building under construction as thick plumes of dark smoke and flames billowed around him.
A crowd that had gathered near the building broke out in applause as the man was lifted in the air and then lowered to the ground.
Crane operator Glen Edwards, 65, described the situation as a “close call” because of windy conditions.
“I was no more than 20 meters up in the air and I looked out my left-hand window and saw a guy standing on the corner of the building,” said Edwards, who had been working at the site before the blaze broke out.
“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,” he added.
He said he tried to position the cage between the man and the flames but he was “hampered by the wind swirling around there.”
“But I got the cage down and I managed to get him in there,” he said.
More than 50 firefighters arrived at the scene to tackle the blaze, officials said, and another man was also lifted from the building by crane. Both men were taken to a hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished later Thursday.
veryGood! (86)
Related
- Garth Brooks wants to move his sexual assault case to federal court. How that could help the singer.
- Florida and Kansas are accusing 2 people of forging signatures for petition drives
- Online lottery player in Illinois wins $560 million Mega Millions jackpot
- US vs. Pakistan: Start time, squads, where to watch 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup match
- Roy Haynes, Grammy-winning jazz drummer, dies at 99: Reports
- 3 killed in shooting at Montgomery grocery store
- 'Got to love this': Kyrie Irving talks LeBron James relationship ahead of 2024 NBA Finals
- Trump asks to have gag order lifted in New York criminal trial
- Driver dies after crashing on hurricane-damaged highway in North Carolina
- We're halfway through 2024. Here are the 10 best movies of the year (so far).
Ranking
- Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes is convicted of producing images of child sex abuse
- Alaska father dies during motorcycle ride to honor daughter killed in bizarre murder-for-hire scheme
- Horoscopes Today, June 4, 2024
- Dollar General digital coupons: Get promo codes from USA TODAY's coupons page to save money
- Darren Criss on why playing a robot in 'Maybe Happy Ending' makes him want to cry
- Bear survives hard fall from tree near downtown Salt Lake City
- 2 women suspected in a 2022 double-homicide case in Colorado arrested in Arizona by a SWAT team
- Iowa sheriff finds 3 dead, 1 injured in rural home near Cedar Rapids
Recommendation
-
Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
-
Crewed Boeing Starliner finally launches from Florida: 'Let's put some fire in this rocket'
-
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Predators of the Deep
-
A look at the key witnesses in Hunter Biden’s federal firearms trial
-
Horoscopes Today, November 10, 2024
-
Americans are tipping less often but requests continue to pile up, survey says
-
Americans are tipping less often but requests continue to pile up, survey says
-
LeBron James 'mad' he's not Kyrie Irving's running mate any longer