Published 15:56 IST, September 28th 2019
French 'Spiderman' arrested after climbing Frankfurt skyscraper
Alain Robert, dubbed as the French Spiderman, was arrested Saturday in the German city of Frankfurt after scaling the 'skyper' tower
Alain Robert, dubbed the French Spiderman for his exploits in climbing buildings around the world, was arrested Saturday in the German city of Frankfurt after scaling the "Skyper" tower, a journalist reported.
Robert, 57, reached the top of 154-metre (500 feet), 42-floor building in just half an hour without permission nor safety equipment causing passersby to stop, stare and take photos.
Back on the ground, police moved into to arrest Robert who has chalked up a series of similar stunts across the globe since 1994, among them the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Alain Robert strikes again
In August, he had climbed a Hong Kong skyscraper and unfolded a "peace" banner as massive and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests rocked the city. During the climb, he attached a banner featuring the Hong Kong and Chinese flags, as well as two hands shaking. Prior to the ascent, Robert put out a statement saying the message of his climb was to make "an urgent appeal for peace and consultation between Hong Kong people and their government".
"Perhaps what I do can lower the temperature and maybe raise a smile. That’s my hope anyway," Robert said in his media statement.
But many were unimpressed. Last August a Hong Kong court had banned him from making any more climbs after he was charged over a 2011 illegal ascent of the 27-floor Hang Seng Bank building. At the time he had vowed to return to Hong Kong as soon as the ban expired. In January he was arrested after climbing a 47-storey tower in Manila
Updated 20:03 IST, September 28th 2019