'Insane' reason man who fell 472ft from skyscraper survived in 'medical miracle'

A man defied the odds after he fell a staggering 472ft from a skyscraper and survived in what was dubbed a 'medical miracle'.

Alcides Moreno, a window cleaner from New York, plummeted 47 floors back in 2007 and somehow managed to live to tell the tale.

If you've ever spotted a window cleaner washing high rise buildings, you may have wondered how they manage to keep their cool while working at such heights.

But Alcides, who cleaned windows with his brother, Edgar, explained that he 'loved it' and enjoyed seeing the windows looking super clean.

Alcides survived a fall of 47 floors (Handout)

"I loved to see the windows really clean," he told BBC.

"I liked the water and the soap, how you press the squeegee.

"We would start at the top and clean all the way to the bottom, I loved it."

On a December day in 2007, Moreno set off to clean the windows of the Solow Tower in the Upper East Side. But it did not go as planned.

When the brothers climbed aboard the suspended platform - which allowed them to move between the different windows and floors - the cables holding the platform in place 'slipped from their attachment point', according to the United States Department of Labor accident report, and the pair plummeted to the ground.

Tragically, Edgar landed on a wooden face and was severely injured. He died from his injuries.

Meanwhile, Alcides was found in a pile of metal, unable to stand and still holding onto the scaffolding controls.

Alcides fell from the Solow Tower (Google)

After being rushed to hospital, Alcides was placed in a coma where the extent of his injuries were fully assessed.

He had serious injuries to his brain, spinal column, chest and abdomen as well as fractures to his ribs, arm and legs.

However, on Christmas Day, Alcides woke up, with his wife by his side.

He had a long recovery ahead, but he survived and medics have called it a 'miracle' ever since.

But how did Alcides manage to survive the fall? After all, survival rates from a fall of just three storeys are around 50 percent, never mind 47.

Well, it's believed that the scaffolding played a hugely crucial role, ultimately slowing down the fall and decreasing the impact.

Entrepreneur Cody Alt explained on Twitter: "The scaffolding became his unlikely savior.

"Riding the scaffolding during the fall may have helped distribute the impact force.

"This spreading of force across his body, rather than concentrating it in one area."

Alt also explained how 'terminal velocity' played a role, adding: "As Alcides fell, he reached a point where gravity's pull equaled air resistance.

"This slightly reduced the impact force compared to a direct free fall."

Speaking to Morgan Freeman on The Story Of God, Alcides has opened up about the devastation of losing his brother.

"My brother is a big loss," he said. "[We were] really, really close."

He added to BBC: "Losing him was a big deal for me."

"Edgar lived with me in New Jersey and we shared a lot of things. He worked with me and died working with me.

"I believe I felt melancholic for about three years. That's how long it took me to recover and accept his death. It was like losing a child, because he was younger than me."

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