Apartment Worker in Surabaya Dies After Hanging from Gondola for 15 Minutes

Two high-rise building window cleaners became trapped and entangled in a safety rope when a thunderstorm struck Surabaya. Both workers hung suspended in the midst of severe weather for several minutes.

M. Rokhim, head of Surabaya’s fire brigade, stated that the two workers remained hanging for several minutes before rescue personnel arrived. The incident was captured on video by residents near the location.

“It was quite a long time (hanging and swinging in strong winds), perhaps around 15 minutes before the rescue team arrived at the scene,” Rokhim said when encountered at the scene on Monday, 2 March 2026.

He estimated that the unfortunate worker, Edy Suratno (51), a resident of Tambak Wedi in Surabaya, was already deceased before rescue personnel arrived. He was subsequently evacuated through a window on the 25th floor.

“He appeared to already be dead, meaning the one (Edy) had already passed away,” he stated.

Nevertheless, he noted that the workers had been preparing to end their work before the storm with powerful winds struck. However, this was not realised as the severe weather arrived suddenly.

“They were about to finish and take a break, because it looked cloudy, he was preparing to descend, but didn’t make it—ultimately he was caught by the wind. His colleague below had already descended. There were actually several teams of workers,” he concluded.