ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A high-rise window cleaner died this month after being violently hurled against a skyscraper during a storm.

Two operatives had been working on a gondola in Surabaya, Indonesia, when powerful winds smashed it against the building during heavy rains and strong winds.

One of the workers, Eddy Suparno, was left hanging from the gondola after becoming caught in the safety line. Although his harness prevented him from plummeting to the ground he was flung out of the gondola, suspended in mid-air and repeatedly smashed against the side of the concrete walls of the building as the platform swayed in the wind.

The ordeal lasted for around 15 minutes and when rescuers were finally able to pull him inside he was already unconscious. He later died of his injuries.

Officers said the gondola had become unstable and had stopped moving at the 26th floor. The second worker was rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.

An investigation is now ongoing. Window cleaner accidents are not uncommon: in December 2025 two high-rise window cleaners sustained injuries after their basket broke and they were left dangling from a 22-storey building in Tysons, Virginia.

Also in December, a window cleaner in Wiltshire was electrocuted when his cleaning pole touched an overhead cable to during high winds. The operative had to have an arm and several toes amputated as a result of the 33,000 volt shock.

And in November a window cleaner in Australia had to be put into an induced coma after sustaining a fall from a Sydney rooftop.