Welder Falls Down Shaft, Saved By Ducting

NY Daily News 5/20/09

A welder on the 16th floor of a construction site took a horrifying plunge down a shaft but was saved by a tangle of duct work.

"Yo, a guy just fell down the chute!" a co-worker shouted when George Saguay slipped and fell while working on 303 E. 77th St. just before 2:30 p.m.

The 180-pound welder slid four stories before his fall was broken by a duct. Then he had to wait for someone to rescue him.

"He looked very scared," plumber Wil Rodriguez, 52, said. "I just kept talking to him, keeping him calm and relaxed."

"He was really quiet and patient," said plumber Orlando Flores, 24. "But you could see the pain on his face."

Firefighters used metal blades to cut through the duct work and eased Saguay, who was secured by an overhead rope, to safety.

He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital with minor injuries.

"I guess it was quite a ride," said Capt. Michael Parks, an acting battalion chief who helped with the rescue. "He's very lucky."