Shocking Video Shows Window Cleaners Dangling From Skyscraper As Flash Storm Hits Beijing

Perhaps the worst place to be during a flash storm is to be dangling from a skyscraper. This nightmarish scenario came true for some window cleaners cleaning the glass panes of Beijing’s CCTV Headquarters when an unexpected storm hit the city.

The CCTV Headquarters is a 51-floor skyscraper, which serves as the office for China Central Television. BBC Journalist Stephen McDonell shared a video that showed the window cleaners swinging from one end to another as the strong winds moved across the grey sky. This incident took place on May 30.

While sharing this chilling video, Stephen McDonell wrote, “Think yourself lucky you’re not a window cleaner on Beijing’s CCTV tower. Here they were dangling on ropes swinging through the air this afternoon after a flash storm hit.” While it is likely that the window cleaners remained safe as they waited out the short spell of the storm, the scenario itself was scary.

In a follow-up post, the China correspondent wrote, “The funny thing was that that sudden storm which brought down trees across Beijing yesterday was gone in around 15 minutes and the sky became blue.” He accompanied this post with a photo of a clear blue sky across Beijing’s cityscape.

Commenting on the above-mentioned video, an X user wrote, “Quite a startling video. Anyone who has travelled around Asia has seen the amazingly challenging and unsafe conditions that many workers on large buildings have to put up with.”

Someone shared an insight about the CCTV Headquarters building shown in the video and wrote, “The locals refer to Beijing’s CCTV headquarters as the big pants building. It has a dual meaning. One is for the building’s appearance and the other is a reference to those who work there.”

Another video from the May 30th flash storm went viral. The video showed a man standing on the base of the patio umbrella when he was swept by strong winds alongside the umbrella. This video was taken at Langfang, in China’s Hebei province.

Fortunately, as per a report in the Weather Channel, the man escaped unharmed. This video was taken on the CCTV camera. Commenting on it, an Instagram user wrote, “Umbrella surfing is now a thing.” Another person wrote, “Looks like he was sailing.” Someone commented, “I hope he’s okay, but that was next-level beautiful in its execution. His form, the grip, the glide.”

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