Window washers rescued from a dangling scaffold at 1 World Trade Center

© James Kievom/New York Daily News

Two trapped window washers dangled 68 floors above lower Manhattan on a scarily tilted 1 World Trade Center scaffold before a heroic sky-high Wednesday rescue.

The two men were stuck on the shaky scaffolding for about 90 minutes before the rescuers carved a 4-foot-by-8-foot hole through a thick double window at the new skyscraper and hoisted the pair to safety.

"Both people were rescued, taken to Bellevue Hospital, no injuries, mild hypothermia," said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority.

The whole drama aired on live television and before a live audience of gawkers peering skyward at the amazing rescue from the precarious perch.

The FDNY cut two separate layers of glass away in sections in an operation that went "fairly smoothly," said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

The two rescued men - identified as Juan Lizama, 41, and Juan Lopez, 33 - were put in neck braces and placed on stretchers for the trip across Manhattan to Bellevue.

Both were seasoned window washers; Lizama had 14 years of experience and Lopez five.

"I just hope they get home safe," said Ray Struck, 57, a hardhat who was among those watching the rescue. "You don't want to see any deaths anywhere - but especially here."

© FDNY

Rescue workers cut through a window pane at 1 World Trade Center to pull the dangling window washers to safety.

The afternoon accident, with the scaffold hanging at a terrifying angle, forced the closing of sidewalks below as passersby stared at the tower.

Cops hustled to empty the adjoining Sept. 11 memorial park, where tourists and lunch-hour visitors were told to leave.

"It's awful," said Nicoka Gorman, who was visiting from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The terrifying incident began about 12:45 p.m. on the south side of the building when a cable on the scaffolding went slack as the two employees worked on the 1,776-foot skyscraper.

"Suddenly (the scaffold) went from horizontal to nearly vertical," said Nigro. "The cables did not break."

The men, already secured to the scaffolding by safety belts, were eventually given ropes sent down by the rescuers for additional security.

The rescuers also gave the men a portable radio to maintain contact during their ordeal.

Gerard McEneaney, director of the building's window washing division, told NY1 that "mechanical error" was seen as the likely cause.

The FDNY hustled to rescue the pair from high above the city street, breaking through the window while sending a second scaffold down in a double rescue effort.

The men were conscious the whole time and in contact with their FDNY rescuers.

NYPD terrorism czar John Miller spoke briefly about the window-washing incident before giving testimony at a City Council hearing.

"Ironically, as we sit here talking about the coordination between agencies and emergency management in the city of New York, at the World Trade Center on the 69th floor, two workers are dangling at a 65-degree angle after the scaffolding partially collapsed," said Miller.

He added that the NYPD, the Port Authority, FDNY and the Office of Emergency Management are "working together to resolve this issue with lives that are very literally and figuratively hanging in the balance."

The tower just opened last week in Lower Manhattan, and stands as the tallest structure in America. Condé Nast employees just moved into their new digs at 1 WTC earlier this month.