Alcides Moreno, a window cleaner from Ecuador, miraculously survived a 47-floor fall from the roof of a New York skyscraper in December 2007. The accident occurred when the cables holding his washing platform slipped from their attachment point, causing him and his brother Edgar to plummet 472 feet to the ground.
Edgar Moreno died instantly upon impact, his body severed by a wooden fence. Alcides was found crouching among twisted metal, still clutching the scaffold controls and trying to stand. Firefighters moved him carefully, likening him to a fragile egg, and rushed him to hospital.
Moreno sustained severe injuries to his brain, spinal column, chest, abdomen, ribs, right arm, and both legs. He was induced into a coma and underwent multiple operations, including a brain catheter to reduce swelling. He received 24 pints of blood. Doctors described his survival as a medical miracle.
Moreno woke from his coma on Christmas Day 2007. He has no memory of the fall but realised his brother had died when he saw only his wife at his bedside. An investigation found the scaffolding had been poorly maintained and the motorised cables not properly anchored. Moreno had not been wearing a safety harness at the time of the fall, though investigators noted he may have intended to put one on before starting work.
Speculation about how he survived includes the possibility that the scaffolding absorbed much of the impact, or that he bounced off the building, slowing his descent. Moreno, originally from Ecuador, said losing his brother was devastating and that he felt melancholic for three years. He now lives with his wife in New Jersey and has since returned to work as a window cleaner, though he avoids high buildings.
