A man who survived a fall from the 47th floor is still not afraid of heights

According to statistics, if you fall from the third floor, the chances of survival are about fifty-fifty. When falling from the tenth — almost none. However, an American of Ecuadorian origin Alcides Moreno somehow miraculously managed to stay alive after flying 47 floors!

(7 photos in total)

Source: BBC

Alcides and his younger brother Edgar worked as window cleaners in New York. The tragedy occurred on December 7, 2007, when they climbed the Solow Tower skyscraper on the Upper East Side. Almost immediately after the men climbed into the construction cradle, the cables slipped off the roof mount.

The Moreno brothers.

Edgar broke first and, flying 144 meters, hit the ground at a speed of 190 kilometers per hour. At about this moment, the cable jumped off from Alcides' side as well.

Solow Tower.

Firefighters and paramedics arrived and first found the body of the younger Moreno. He fell on a wooden fence — it was a heartbreaking picture. Alcides was found among the metal fragments of the cradle. The unfortunate man was holding on to the control panel, his body was unnaturally bent, but he was still breathing and, according to eyewitnesses, even tried to get to his feet.

Firefighters transferred Alcides to the ambulance with the utmost care, knowing that any sudden movement could lead to death. At the hospital, it turned out that the poor man had multiple injuries to the brain, spine, chest and abdominal cavity, as well as broken ribs, an arm and both legs.

Alcides (center) at a meeting with the firefighters who saved him.

Doctors put Alcides in a coma, performed dozens of operations and transfused 12 liters of blood to him. Surprisingly, the man survived. Dr. Herbert Pardes, the head of New York Presbyterian Hospital, called it a miracle.

Alcides, his wife Rosario and one of their sons.

Three weeks later, Alcides came to his senses and admitted that he did not remember falling at all. "My head was completely foggy," he said.

How the man managed to survive has remained a mystery. Perhaps the cradle he grabbed onto took the brunt of the blow. Maybe the structure hit the skyscraper in flight, which slowed down the speed of the fall.

"I was depressed for about three years," Moreno says. — It took so long for me to accept the fact of my brother's death. It's like I lost a child, he was younger than me."

After receiving a large compensation, the man moved with his family to Arizona. Warm weather is good for his bones. Alcides is now 46 years old, and he assures that he would gladly return to his former job if his health allowed.