Hair-raising video captured the moment first responders in Minnesota rescued a man in distress at the top of a 250-foot-tall radio tower.
Aerial footage showed Sgt. Alex Eckstein, a member of the highly trained Dakota County Special Operations Team, approached the unidentified man climbing to the top of the tower in Eagan, just south of Minneapolis.
Eckstein’s defense was “very tough” told WCCO News“I have never experienced anything so physically or mentally exhausting.”
The call about the distressed man on the morning of October 10 immediately turned Eckstein’s routine into an unexpected high-wire task that he hopes he will never have to repeat.
“You are thinking a lot of things; How do we get there, how do we bring this guy down,'” Eckstein recalled.
The rescuer spent about half an hour climbing the metal structure, fighting violent winds as he tied his carabiner and rope to the stairs in case of a fall.
“You’re doing amazing!” Eckstein shouted to the man during the climb and promised that he would get him down.
“It’s incredible that this guy was able to last so long. Nobody likes to live at such a height,” the rescuer said.
Eckstein’s partner, Chief Sam Seal, moved forward, and when both men were on top, Seal managed to get a harness on the distressed man before he descended.
“I went to train for this, but I didn’t think I’d ever climb 250 feet to take someone down,” Seal told the network.
Authorities brought the man to hospital – and his rescuers said they would be prepared if something like this happened again.
“We don’t want to do it again, but we’ll be prepared,” Eckstein said.
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