Published 12:06 IST, September 30th 2019
French 'spiderman' arrested after climbing a skyscraper in Germany
A climber known as the “French Spiderman” climbed a high rise-building in the German city of Frankfurt after which he was arrested for climbing illegally
A climber known as the 'French Spiderman' climbed a high rise-building in the German city of Frankfurt. Alain Robert reportedly took approximately 20 minutes to climb the 42 floors “Skyper” tower without any safety equipment causing passerby to stop and take pictures. After reaching the ground, the 57-year-old was reportedly arrested by the local police as he didn't have any official permission. Robert specialises in unsanctioned ascents of tall buildings. He recently also climbed a Hong Kong skyscrapper and attached a banner featuring the Hong Kong and Chinese flag which symbolized peace between the citizens and the government.
Previous expeditions
Alain Robert has climbed many notable structures around the world including Burj Khalifa, the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower and many more. Back in 2003, he legally climbed the National Bank of Abu Dhabi which was reportedly watched by 100,000 spectators. In 2018, the French climber was supposedly banned from climbing any building in Britain after scaling one of London's tallest buildings without ropes and without permission after which he appeared in front of the London court and allegedly received a 20-week suspension and $7000 fine. He was also paid to scale buildings for publicity. He was reportedly paid $18,000 to climb Lloyd's building to promote the premiere of the movie Spider-man on a British television channel.
The human Spider
Robert is a French rock climber and urban climber who is also known as 'The French Spider-man' or 'The Human Spider'. He is known for scaling skyscrapers without using climbing equipment except for a small bag of chalk and a pair of climbing shoes. He has reportedly faced a lot of injuries during his journey. Robert told an international media outlet that he has fallen seven times in his life, further adding that his worst fall was at the age of 20. He was apparently in a coma for five days and fractured both forearms, his elbow, pelvis, and nose. He damaged one of his nerves, leaving him partially paralyzed.
Updated 16:50 IST, September 30th 2019