Man Stuck Atop Downtown Crane Rescued By Austin Medics

AUSTIN, TX — Medics rescued a man who got stuck high atop a crane in downtown Austin early Monday, officials said.

Austin-Travis County EMS medics responded to the 700 block of East 3rd Street, west of Interstate 35, around 8 a.m. where a person was stuck in the crane at a downtown construction area. Medics were able to help the man descend the crane before he was taken to the hospital.

It's unclear why the man climbed the crane to begin with as medics provided no details on the motive. Such construction cranes are ubiquitous in dotting the downtown Austin landscape amid brisk construction activity, the devices largely centered on construction of luxury housing to accommodate a continual influx of some 1o0 people a day moving to the capital city.

According to the website ThinkWelty.com, tower cranes reach a maximum height of 265 feet when anchored to the ground. They can be much taller if they are secured to a building as the building rises, according to the site. The maximum jib reach is approximately 230 feet, and the maximum weight it can lift is 19.8 tons, or 18 metric tons, the website reads.