Abu Dhabi: Watchman pulls building cleaners to safety

Abu DHABI Two Bangladeshi workers cleaning a high-rise building had a miraculous escape on Tuesday when the building watchman pulled them to safety through an apartment window after ropes connecting to their scaffolding came loose.

The accident occurred on Tuesday at around 10am at the Salam Bombay restaurant building behind Electra Street.

Cleaners Sabikur Rahman and Jaman Mandal, both 25, told XPRESS they lost balance when the rope came loose on one side, tilting their platform to the right. “We held on to the rope. Otherwise we would have fallen down,” said Mandal who is married with a one year old baby in Bangladesh. Rahman said they called out for the watchman who came to their rescue within minutes.

Mohammed Jaffer, the building watchman told XPRESS: “As soon as I heard them screaming for help, I rushed to the fifth floor where the scaffolding was stuck. They were outside the bathroom of a vacant apartment. I forced open the glass window with the help of two other people and pulled them in,”

Another watchman called the police rescue team that arrived at the spot with three fire trucks. The rescue team brought down the scaffolding with a crane.

A managerial staff from cleaning company Super Bright General Contracting, said the cleaning apparatus was recently checked by a safety management company. “We have got a six-month approval from the company that checked our apparatus at the beginning of this month,” said the staff.

There was no immediate comment from the safety management company.