Two workers were pulled from scaffolding that was dangling from the side of an apartment building in Boston's Chinatown on Thursday morning.
The incident happened 13 stories in the air at Tai Tung Village, a housing and business complex.
Witness Andres Mateo told NBC10 Boston he saw the scaffolding drop.
"I saw the guy hanging from the rope," Meteo recalled.
He said as he started recording with his cellphone, one man was pulled inside a window by firefighters. The other man was taken in after firefighters broke through the glass.
"Both workers were brought in safely and they were immediately taken to Boston EMS just for an evaluation. They both appeared to be fine," said Jonathan Hernandez of the Boston Fire Department.
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Aerial footage from NBC10 Boston's SkyRanger helicopter showed what appeared to be scaffolding hanging precariously from one end on the side of the building.
The right side of the scaffolding had collapsed while the workers were on the job, Boston fire officials said. The workers had been properly strapped into the scaffolding and stayed attached to it, despite its severe slant.
"It was fine. I wasn't nervous," said Fong Cheong, who works at the building. The guy that was up there was very fine. He had all the safety. Everything. All the safety rope and belt with him."
Both of the workers were taken to the hospital for evaluation, firefighters said.
A spokesperson for contractors Complete Restoration and Waterproofing said the workers had been power washing when one of the motors on their platform malfunctioned.
Boston police said the call for a "high angle rescue" at the building on Harrison Avenue came shortly after 11 a.m.
It wasn't immediately clear if city safety inspectors were looking into the incident.
