Window washer survives fall
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WINNIPEG - A window washer who plunged seven floors not only survived but didn't even break any bones.
Chris Piper remained in hospital Thursday, a day after falling seven or eight storeys while working at a 10-storey apartment building.
"He's stable. He's got no broken bones," said Jim St. Godard, the owner of Class A Service Ltd., adding he had no other details about his employee's injuries.
"We're concerned for him and his family and hoping the best for him."
St. Godard declined to speculate on what happened, saying the incident was under investigation.
A witness previously told QMI Agency Winnipeg that the window washer's rope broke, causing him to fall all the way down, through a ground-floor overhead window and into the complex's lobby.
"His eyes were open and he was sitting up, just bleeding from his head profusely," James Warren said at the scene. "It was pretty hard to believe he was conscious."
Warren said the man was lucky to fall where he did -- less than a metre from a spiked iron barrier in the lobby on which he could have impaled himself.
The man was taken to hospital in critical condition with what police described as lower-body injuries from the fall, which happened around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
On Thursday, the hospital issued a statement.
"He is in good spirits and thanks everyone for their concern," it read.
Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health is investigating. Executive director Joanna Guerra said the focus is on trying to prevent similar accidents in the future, although it has the ability to send files to the Crown's office for possible prosecution.
tamara.king@sunmedia.ca
Twitter @tamaraking
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