FRANCE: FIREMEN RESCUE FRENCH DAREDEVIL CLIMBER ALAIN ROBERT AKA "THE SPIDERMAN" FROM HALFWAY UP LA GRANDE ARCHE IN PARIS

Record ID: 630236

  • Title: FRANCE: FIREMEN RESCUE FRENCH DAREDEVIL CLIMBER ALAIN ROBERT AKA "THE SPIDERMAN" FROM HALFWAY UP LA GRANDE ARCHE IN PARIS
  • Date: 8th September 1999
  • Summary: LA DEFENSE, PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 8, 1999) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE OF THE LA GRANDE ARCH (2 SHOTS) 0.08 2. LV ALAIN ROBERT WALKING ALONG 0.16 3. VARIOUS OF ROBERT SCALING THE ARCH (4 SHOTS) 0.44 4. SLV/MV PEOPLE WATCHING (2 SHOTS) 0.51 5. TILT UP ROBERT HALFWAY THROUGH THE TOP OF THE ARCH 0.59 6. MV POLICE
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LA DEFENSE, PARIS AND BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVA6OBI8M3W546A0SXDFLFJ60B7N
  • Story Text: A Frenchman, dubbed as the "Spiderman", who has defied
    police to scale the world's tallest buildings, had to be
    rescued half-way up the 110-metre-high (360 ft) La Grande
    Arche, at la Defense on Wednesday.

    Alain Robert, who wanted to add La Grande Arch of
    La Defense to his worldwide climbing conquests on Wednesday
    (September 8), unexpectedly failed in his attempt.Because of
    a strong wind, sun reflection on the building, dehydration and
    cramps he stopped halfway through the top of the Arch.

    Robert started the ascent pulling himself up
    hand-over-hand using no climbing gear but suddenly stopped,
    suffering from heat and dehydration.

    "I suffered from the heat and intensive dehydration and
    from the fact that it was very slippery.As a matter of fact,
    a window pane is much more adherent than marble", he said.

    A fireman abseiled from the top of the arch to help Robert
    back to the ground as the climber, suffering from the heat and
    dazzled by sunshine reflecting off the building's white marble
    slabs, was obviously in difficulty.

    He was taken to hospital suffering from cramps and
    dehydration.

    After a check-up at the Ambroise Par hospital, Robert
    told Reuters that at no moment he was scared during the
    climbing but frustrated by his failure.

    The 37-year-old French climber has scaled the Empire State
    Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower and the Obelisk in
    Paris, Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers, Tokyo's Shinjuku Tower,
    London's Canary Wharf building, San Francisco's Golden Gate
    Bridge, and more recently the Sears Tower in Chicago.


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