A British man stuck atop a chimney for 15 hours was pronounced dead at the scene after hours of attempted rescue.
Emergency services arrived at Dixon’s Chimney in Carlisle at around 2:20 a.m. GMT on Oct. 28. An initial attempt to rescue the stuck man with a helicopter was later abandoned.
Instead, a cherry picker from Scotland was brought in to help, and the 50-year-old was brought down from the 290-foot chimney at about 4:45 p.m. GMT.
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He was confirmed dead by Cumbria police Supt. Matt Kennerley.
“We can confirm that a man who was trapped at height on Dixon’s Chimney in Carlisle and later recovered during a multi-agency operation has been confirmed as deceased,” he said. “The operation involved road closures, the use of drones to assess the scene and helicopter and a cherry picker brought in from Glasgow.
“All of this was done with the aim of bringing the man down safely.”
Earlier in the operation, Kennerley said the man had been responding to officials but had gone quiet for “some hours” before he was recovered.
He added that a helicopter rescue wasn’t “possible due to the precarious position” and “potential for backdraft to worsen the situation.”
The man was first found early Monday morning hanging upside down on top of the chimney. Damage to the main ladder on the side of the chimney made rescue efforts even more difficult.
According to Sky News, residents could hear a man shouting and wailing from as early as 1 a.m. before authorities were called about an hour later.
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The superintendent maintained at the time that the incident was being approached as a rescue effort, not a recovery.
Police say an investigation is being launched to determine how and why the man reached the top of the chimney.
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