Cleaner killed after gondola falls from 23rd floor

A window cleaning gondola fell from the 23rd floor of the Intiland Tower in Indonesia

In a recent article by The Jakarta Post, a cleaner was killed after a window cleaning gondola fell from the 23rd floor of the Intiland Tower located in Indonesia. The incident occurred on Wednesday at 11:15 AM.

According to key persons, the gondola was purchased a year ago and had never been used before the accident. “Last week, the gondola was repaired. It was the first time the thing was used after the repair. It was in a good condition,” he was reported as saying. A corporate public relations officer said the building’s management was still seeking an explanation for the cause of the accident from the contractor that repaired the gondola.

“Yes, there was an accident and one man was killed,” said the detective head of the Police office in Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. There has been no talk as of yet at who his responsible for the accident. 

Window Cleaner Falls To His Death At The Corinthia

The window-cleaner died when his gondola fell from the 11th floor onto roof of the foyer. Click to enlarge.

Window-cleaner falls to his death at the Corinthia (Libya): A tragic accident has claimed the life of an Egyptian window cleaner at Tripoli’s Corinthia Hotel. He  died after his gondola came crashing down from the 11th floor onto the roof of the hotel foyer. The 34 year-old man, named only as “F.A.” was apparently still alive after the accident which happened on Sunday. Guests have reported that it took some 40 minutes for him to be rescued.

The Old Town police station has filed a report to say that the man, reported as a member of the hotel’s cleaning staff, was pronounced dead before he arrived at Tripoli Medical Centre on Sunday. The impact was so severe that the gondola broke through part of the roof, and dust and debris fell into the foyer of the five-star hotel. A number of guests initially thought that there had been an explosion. It is not yet clear what exactly happened.

The damage made by the impact, with the gondola lying close by. Click to super-size.

The Director of Operations at the Corinthia, Lorraine Radford, told the Libya Herald today that she was unable to comment on the tragedy. The Libya Herald tried to contact the director of public relations for Corinthia Hotels but has not had a response. The police report said that an investigation had been launched. One guest told the Libya Herald that he had been told that arrests had already been made. “This is very serious,” he said, “because somebody died.” Although the interior ceiling of the lobby has been repaired, the damaged roof and broken gondola today remained on the roof.

The Corinthia Hotel Tripoli is a luxury hotel in Tripoli, offering refined hospitality and pampering luxury in the capital of Libya.

Window cleaner dies in Corinthia Tripoli fall: A 34-year-old Egyptian window-cleaner has died while working at the Corinthia Hotel Tripoli, Libyan media reported today. The incident happened on Sunday when the gondola he was standing in collapsed and crashed from the 11th floor to the roof of the hotel's foyer, the Libya Herald reported. He died on his way to hospital.

Thriller In Manila As Whirlwind Hits Window Cleaners

The taller RCBC Plaza Yuchengco Tower and the smaller RCBC Plaza Tower 2. The taller tower stands at 192 meters (630 ft) from the ground to its architectural top, and is currently the 8th-tallest complete building in Makati City.

2 hurt while cleaning RCBC building windows Manila, Philippines - Two window cleaners were slightly injured after their gondola was hit by a sudden strong gust of wind while cleaning the RCBC Plaza along Ayala Avenue in Makati City on Monday morning. Acting Makati City police chief, Superintendent Jaime Santos, identified those injured as Roberto Rendon and Victoriano Nietes. Rendon and Nietes were rushed to the nearby Makati Medical Center for treatment of their injuries. According to the Makati Rescue, Rendon and Nietes were cleaning the outside reflective glass at the 40th floor of the RCBC Plaza’s Yuchengco Tower at about 10:15 am when their gondola was hit by a strong gust of wind. The Yuchengco Tower has a total of 46 floors. The strong gust of wind then sent the gondola swinging and then sent it slamming against the building’s reflective glass. Fortunately, the gondola did not break loose and was intact after the incident. In January last year, 10 construction workers were killed at the 39-storey Eton Residences construction site at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Gallardo Street when the electric gondola carrying them broke and sent them falling from the 28th floor to the 7th floor. Investigations later revealed that the gondola was certified to carry only two passengers.

2 window cleaners hurt as whirlwind hits gondola (Manila, Philippines) – Two window cleaners in Makati were injured after a whirlwind hit a construction gondola they were riding on. Roberto Rendon and Victoriano Nietes were cleaning the windows of RCBC Plaza facing H.V. Dela Cuesta Street on Monday morning when a whirlwind hit their gondola, which was 42 feet off the ground. It took rescuers at least an hour to get the workers. The gondola's cables got strangled after being hit by strong winds. The workers were later rushed to the Makati Medical Center. A taxi's rear window was also damaged due to falling broken glass panels. No one was reported injured due to the shattered glass panels.

Hong Kong Window Cleaner Death

Window cleaner at work in Shanghai, China. Click to enlarge.

Window cleaner falls to death: A window cleaner died after falling 16 stories from a gondola outside a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel. According to reports, Chan Wai, 38, and a colleague named 'So' boarded the gondola (swinging scaffold) outside the Royal Garden Hotel about 10am. They were preparing to clean the external walls of the hotel, owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties, when the gondola tilted to one side, throwing Chan out. So was able to keep his balance and was not injured. It is suspected that Chan, who was not wearing a helmet, had not yet fastened his harness when the gondola tilted. He fell 16 stories and was certified dead at the scene. An initial investigation showed the cables fitted to the gondola are in good condition.

Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees' General Union chairman Chow Luen-kiu said there should be two bolts to lock the two steel cables on either side of a gondola. It is suspected that Chan may have mistakenly unlocked a bolt, which made the gondola tilt. The Labour and Fire Services departments are looking into the cause of the accident. Chan had been a window cleaner for four years. The widower lived in Tsz Wan Shan with his mother. The hotel has given his family HK$300,000 as consolation money. Meanwhile, the owners of some shops near the hotel voiced dissatisfaction with police investigators. They claimed officers arrived at the scene some time after the fall and left the body of the dead worker exposed for six hours, which affected business. Describing the case as "rare," Chow advised workers to inspect the cables of gondolas before getting into them.

FOCUSED: A woman ate breakfast as a window cleaner worked outside on the 23rd floor of a hotel in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China. Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

Spotlight On Window Cleaners In The Far East

Daredevils: Workers clean the windows of a skyscraper on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta. The salaries paid to window cleaners do not match their courage: Some claim they are paid as little as Rp 1 million (US$113) a month and are covered only by the state’s Jamsostek insurance program.

Salary not as big as their guts: Being trapped in a gondola cleaning high-rise windows is scary for those working as window cleaners. Projecting fear onto other activities is the only way they are able to face the moment. “[When being trapped] I just chatted with my colleague so that we did not panic,” said window cleaner, Kosim, recalling an incident in 2009 when he was trapped in a gondola at about the 10th floor while cleaning a skyscraper in Kuningan business district, South Jakarta. The gondola was stuck up there for about an hour because a technical problem halted the lift system, triggering an automatic shutdown of the entire system. “I was very nervous, even after I contacted the building technical engineer through my walkie-talkie. Anything could happen in that situation,” he said.

The man, who had been working as a window cleaner for four years, said he was aware of the risks when he took the job. “As a teenager, I loved to climb, so I was excited to take the job. Of course the risks are there, but I still wanted to do it,” he said, adding that the scariest moments were when the wind was strong. With excessive pollution, many tall buildings in Jakarta count on brave people such as Kosim to maintain its luster. A window cleaner’s salary, however, is apparently not as great as his courage. Ahmad Yani, another window cleaner, said that he was paid Rp 1 million (US$113) a month and was protected by state workers’ insurance Jamsostek. “It is small compared to the risks. Many of my relatives pushed me to find a safer job with a better salary. Sometimes I think about finding another job just to find a new environment, but not because I worry about my safety,” he said.

“I enjoy the scenery from up above, plus the breeze sometimes makes me sleepy,” Ahmad added. Darwoto, a supervisor at a building maintenance company, PT Virya Surya Jana, said that a gondola worker should obtain an operational license, called an SIO (Surat Ijin Operasi). “It is like a drivers license. [Window cleaners] have to join a three-day training program before they receive their license,” he said. The license, issued by the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and valid for five years, is given after the three-day training program, which includes instruction on knowledge of safety procedures and operating the gondola.

Safety procedures include wearing a helmet, full body harness and belt. This, however, does not guarantee one’s safety. A gondola with three workers inside broke away last Wednesday and fell upon the 29th floor of the Batavia Tower building in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, killing one worker. Maman Hermansyah, chairman of the association of experts on safety working at high-rise buildings (Asosiasi Ahli Keselamatan Kerja di Bangunan Tinggi ), said that Indonesia was the second after China with the highest rate of work accidents at tall buildings. “In 2006, five people fell and died while working at heights every day in Indonesia. In 2007, the figure rose to seven people every day,” he told the The Jakarta Post recently.

Maman, who is also the president of the Southeast Asia Climbing Federation, stressed the importance of regulating safety standards for working at height. “Currently, the safety law only mentions one method in working at height, using rope that is, while there are many other methods, including using gondola,” he said. Maman said that all workers working at heights, which include electricity engineers and window cleaners, should be trained and obtain a license. According to Maman the association had issued certificates for about 600 workers working after they had been trained by institutions affiliated with the association, mostly those who work in the telecommunications industry. 

Professionals out to clean your spaces: Armed with the right equipment and expertise, housekeeping professionals are in demand this Diwali. From providing specific services such as floor cleaning, window cleaning, glass cleaning, carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, rug cleaning, appliances cleaning, chandelier cleaning and so on, the experts also offer deep cleaning that includes overall cleaning of the house.
Gambhir Mundinkeri, who has been running Clean Fix Housekeeping for the past nine years, said in the past two-three years, people have opened up to the concept of hiring professionals for housekeeping. “Earlier, we used to serve only corporate and individual offices during festivals but now 70 per cent of our clientele are households,” said Mundinkeri, who serves over 150 clients during the festive season. He added that more than bungalows, they get maximum number of orders from flat owners.
Mundinkeri has got a team of around 15 persons. They are further divided into three groups. Each team that works on one site includes four workers and one supervisor. To work on a house of 1,500 sq ft, it takes the team around 10 hours. The firm starts getting orders a month prior to Diwali. Executive vice president and company secretary of HDFC Bank, Sanjay Dongre finds the concept of hiring professional cleaners convenient and economical. “They are well-equipped and we don't have to worry about supplying cleaning material to them,” said Dongre.
For Samarth Services, the period of Dussehra and Diwali is the busiest of the year. On an average, the firm’s team finishes working on four-five houses in one day, which sometimes differs depending on the availability of manpower. “In the past three years, I have observed a lot of changes in this field. The outlook of people has changed tremendously and they are looking for professional services for each and every requirement. Thus I see a lot of growth potential for this market in the coming years,” said Santosh Vishwakarma, Samarth Services.
Spic N Span Services is a two-and-a-half year-old firm that specialises in residential cleaning. “On an average, we finish cleaning three apartments in a day. We work in three teams; each team comprises four persons, including a team leader. The concept of Diwali cleaning has undergone a change and people prefer getting it done through professionals than their maids,” said Mayur Shah, proprietor, Spic N Span.
Agreeing with Shah is Vishwakarma, who says that earlier the whole idea about cleaning was limited to using phenyl and acid. “Now they know there is a different chemical for different purposes and one cannot replace the other. We train our team members thoroughly on the mechanism, equipment and products to be used while cleaning glasses, carpets, toilets, sofas, floors and so on,” he added. The charges for professional Diwali cleaning depend on various factors such as area, type of cleaning, condition of the flat and so on. On an average, for deep cleaning of a 2BHK furnished flat spread over an area of around 1,000 sq ft, the cost will be between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 (around $50).

After yesterdays blog: Shanghai Window Washers Killed In Accidental Fall, here are a couple of news stories that have appeared arising from the fatal falls..

'For work they risk their lives' - Oblivious to the heavy rain, a man in a leather jacket stood just beyond the police cordon, gazing intently. Before him lay the bodies of two window cleaners who fell to their deaths yesterday in Changning District. Occasionally, he spoke quietly to onlookers who were speculating about what had happened. "For their work they risked their lives," sighed the man, surnamed Zhao, who should know as he has worked in the same dangerous trade. Zhao, a passer-by, said he had been a high-rise window cleaner for six years but quit. "There are two things you need for that job; one is a license and the other is guts."

More than 1,000 window cleaners - a trade known as a SpiderMan - work on high-rises across the city, risking their lives on a daily basis, separated from death only by their securing ropes. And increasingly, they are threatened by a lack of supervision on equipment checks and poor safety awareness, warned a local exterior wall cleaning industry committee. An official, surnamed Wu, said many cleaning service companies don't check equipment regularly, meaning a SpiderMan may have to rely on aged or damaged ropes and tools.

For though the industry committee requires companies to check equipment, the absence of a supervising facility means regulations are often ignored, said Wu. "The life of a cleaner depends on the rope that holds him," said Wu, "But there are no laws forcing companies to ensure equipment is safe." Moreover, some workers do not even hold operation licenses, which need to be renewed annually after exams. Zhao said the job is usually taken by migrant workers who shift jobs frequently, some working for several companies at one time. "To save money, some companies only get one or two licenses but hire many workers," he explained.

To make matters worse, fierce competition among small cleaning companies is driving them to cut costs as much as possible, impacting on equipment checks and training, said Wu. And when accidents happen, some cleaners are not covered by insurance, as their employers haven't bought any, he added. Zhao, from Jiangsu Province, said in his time as a window cleaner he saw several injuries among colleagues who fell but were saved by safety locks.

And despite the dangers they face, high-rise window cleaners are poorly rewarded.  "Often, I didn't know where my next meal was coming from," said Zhao, who said workers receive about 150 yuan to 200 yuan for a day's work. "However, sometimes we waited for one month between jobs." Zhao said many men from his hometown come to Shanghai to work in the trade. Taking a final look at the bodies, covered by white sheets, Zhao walked away from the crowd as the rain got heavier. "Too bad for them," he said as he left.

Two window cleaners in fatal fall linked to each other by safety harness? The two window cleaners who plunged to their deaths from the 22nd storey of the the Pacific Business Center on Yan'an Road yesterday could have been linked to each other by a safety harness.  Zha Minjie of Shanghai Daily reports:

According to witnesses, one worker began to fall after his support rope snapped, taking with him a colleague he was linked to by a safety rope. "If it's true, then it was against all the rules, as workers should not be linked together," said a former window cleaner, surnamed Zhao, who worked in the business for six years.

Zhao said each two-man team should be equipped with three ropes, with both workers hooking onto the middle one by a device called a latching lock, in addition to having their own safety ropes. "The lock will hold the workers even if one rope breaks," said Zhao. "They would just hang in the air instead of crashing to the ground."

Swing Stage Incident In Indonesia With Fatality

Gondola Victim Evacuated Wednesday (10/26): Fachrudin (33), a dead casualty of a crashed gondola at Batavia Tower in Tanah Abang has been evacuated to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) for autopsy treatment.

Johanson Ronald Simamora as Head of Tanah Abang Sector Police explained that before the incident, Fahrudin was at the balcony of 29th floor. He crashed into a gondola which was shared by two other workers while cleaning the windows on 33th floor. “It is alleged that the victim was about to move one gondola security rope to another one." "Then, he fell down to the 29th floor." When falling down, his head hit the building divider and spotlight." "Finally, he was dead at the scene in a face down position."

Kardiman as a witness and the victim’s co-worker expressed that when moving the rope, he did not use sling cable which was used as a safety function to stop a fall. “If you want to park the gondola, you must use sling rope - but, he didn’t use it,” he added. One of the victims was wearing a helmet. As a result, his right hand fractured and the left side of his head was bleeding.

A gondola/window cleaning staging at Batavia Tower in Tanahabang, Central Jakarta, Indonesia failed. At the present time the reason of the cause of the collapse is unknown. However, due to the incident, one of the workers was killed. Ronald Simamora of the Malaysian police, said the incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. "The cause of the accident is not known but will certainly be investigated," he said on Wednesday (26/10).

The information collected by the newspaper, is that two workers fell from the gondola on the 33rd floor of the building and were stuck on the 29th floor. At that time, the workers were in the gondola to clean the glass roof. The victim who died was known by the surname Fachrudin, of Ciputat, South Tangerang. Meanwhile, other workers suffered cuts and the identities of the workers are unknown.

Rica, one of the staff at the Batavia Tower, said people are slow at coming forward on the incident & do not want to give evidence. He said "the party's management is still collecting information and will give evidence after lunch." "Just after the hour lunch break we will pass it all on to the authorities." "At the moment the authorities are still on site going through the evidence."

Canary Wharf Window Cleaners - The UK's Scariest Job?

Two window cleaners are lowered over the balcony above the 50th floor of the One Canada Square skyscraper in London's Canary Wharf - currently the UK's tallest building. Cleaning all the windows takes a month.

A canary's view from Canary Wharf: The window cleaners with the scariest job in Britain. These daring window cleaners must have a real head for sights. Every day Lee Mason and Paul Wright winch themselves up the face of Britain's tallest building to wash its 3,860 windows, one by one. But despite having to battle strong winds and freezing temperatures, they say the views of the Capital from the top of Canary Wharf's One Canada Square make it all worth while. Click pictures to enlarge.

Dizzy heights: Lee and Paul take a break from cleaning One Canada Square's 3,960 windows.

Precarious: They rely on a few thin cables that winch their specially-made gondola up and down the tower.

The amazing pictures were taken from the top floor of the 800ft tower, showing the Thames River snaking through London alongside St Paul's Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament as well as the city's other architectural icons. Paul, who has done the job for nearly seven years, told Docklands newspaper in November: 'It probably is one of the scariest jobs in Britain, and the first time you go over it turns your stomach, but I’m used to it now.

Don't look down: They clean each window one by one.

Grafters: Lee and Paul hard at work, left. And 800ft One Canada Square from the ground, right.

'You’re away from everything and in your own little world. It’s an absolutely amazing view and it’s very peaceful.' Let's just hope they don't forget their sandwiches . . . as it's a long way to the nearest shop.

Take a break: They battle strong winds and freezing temperatures but say the view makes it all worth while.

Also see previous blog here.

Window Cleaner Skyscraper Rescue - Singapore

Singapore - An amazing rescue effort, on the sixteenth floor, witnessed by over 50 office workers on the ground, was captured on film as the drama unfolded in the heart of Singapore's business district. Two Chinese men cleaning windows in a gondola became trapped when one of the cables supporting the cleaning unit became entangled, leaving the two men dangling at an angle. With their lives in danger and the very real fear the other cable could snap, a rescue team was despatched to save the men from a fatal plunge to the bottom of the Maybank Tower.

The skyscraper on Battery Road in Raffles Place is in the centre of Singapore's downtown business district. The world-famous district features some of the tallest buildings in Asia. A member of the public called the emergency services at 1600 local time (0300EDT) on Monday, reports asiaone news. It had began to rain heavily and the wind was strong causing the gondola to swing violently back and forth.

A contractor maintaining the gondola was called in to see if it could be lowered safely to the ground floor. It was determined this was not possible, so a rescue team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) sent an operative in a safety harness out of a window on the seventeenth floor. He secured the first worker to his own body whilst the other climbed out the gondola and both men were carefully put through a window on the fifteenth floor. Paramedics checked the men over and determined there was no need to send the workers to hospital, reports the Singapore-based newspaper, Electric New Paper. The whole incident was witnessed by a large crowd who had gathered on the streets below, who clapped and cheered when the men were eventually rescued.

Q & A With An Indonesian Window Cleaner

My Jakarta - Joko, High-Rise Window Cleaner: It is amazing what people can overcome when they put their minds to it. Take Joko, for example. This window cleaner at Menara BCA in Thamrin, the tallest office building in Indonesia, has learned to put aside fear as he sways in the breeze high above Jakarta. The 25-year-old has been cleaning the same office windows for three years now and shares with us what it feels like to hang 56 floors above the earth.

Don’t your knees get weak when you’re outside looking down from the 56th floor of Menara BCA?
I was committed to doing it from the very first time, so I’m not scared. And now that I’ve been cleaning office windows for three years, I’m used to it.

Don’t you ever worry that the rope might break and the gondola fall to the ground?
Luckily that has not happened to me. And it’s very unlikely to happen because we were all trained and tested at the start. We also use all the necessary safety equipment: harness, helmet, goggles, safety shoes, gloves, carabiner and so on. Just like rock climbing.

We? How many people go on the gondola with you?
There are three of us; an operator, myself and another cleaner. There’s also a supervisor watching us from the top floor.

Can you take visitors on the gondola with you? You could charge money, like skydiving or bungee jumping.
We only take guests who have obtained permission from the office management. But we haven’t taken any guests since I’ve worked here.

That’s too bad. It could be the next big thing. So how often and how long are you out there?
We clean six days a week, unless it rains. We clean about 20 floors a day, starting at 6 a.m. through till 2 p.m.

Wow, you hardly touch the ground for eight hours straight. Don’t you ever want to take a break and go for a walk?
Well, after 2 p.m. I go back to my parents’ house in Jatinegara and rest.

So no coffee break or time to relax while you are on the gondola?
[Laughs] No, but I find it enjoyable to view Jakarta from above, places like Ancol. But I especially like Mount Putri, which is visible in the morning.

That’s so cool. I didn’t know you could see a mountain from Thamrin. What about animals?
I saw a bird once. It was a short-faced tumbler. It came flying into the glass. I think it got dizzy because it paused for a little while before flying away.

What do you do when you go home to Jatinegara?
I own a home-based business renting out three PlayStations. We could have anywhere between three and 15 people playing at our house until 9 p.m. Sometimes I play too. Other times, when I’m tired, I just go to sleep.

Don’t your parents ever complain about the noise?
Their room is upstairs so they don’t really hear it.

What is your favorite food in Jakarta?
The baso [meatballs] in front of the East Mall of Grand Indonesia, just next to Menara BCA and close to a Korean restaurant. The place is called Mie Bloon [Idiotic Noodles].

Is that what do when you finally touch the ground? Eat and hang out at Mie Bloon?
When we are back on the ground, we continue to clean windows at the ground level, like those in the lobby. We also have a briefing with our supervisor after work.

What else do you like about Jakarta apart from the baso?
I like the fact that there are many people from different ethnic groups living in Jakarta.

Haven’t you ever been scared while up there? What about the first time you did it?
The first time, I just prayed that I’d be safe up there. But I don’t get scared. One time it got really windy, but I wasn’t scared, just shocked. I know it’s safe. The gondola is attached to the building so it won’t sway much.

Can you see what people are doing inside the building from out there?
Yes, I can. But people are usually just working.

Do you aspire to be like Alain Robert, the French Spiderman who came here last year and climbed the City Tower with only his hands and feet, no rope, no nothing?
Who? I’ve never heard of him. No, I don’t want to do that.

What do you have planned for the future?
I have a girlfriend and we are getting married this year [blushes].