09 July,2019 01:21 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Video grab
London: An unidentified man on Monday scaled The Shard in London which is currently ranked as the tallest building in the European Union. The man scaled the tower without the apparent assistance of a safety harness or ropes. The British newspapers showed footage of the stunt showing the man climbing near the very top of the narrow pyramid-shaped building on the banks of the River Thames.
The police department said, "Police were called at 05:15 hours on Monday, July 8 following reports of a 'free-climber' on the Shard. Emergency services attended and the man is now with officers. He was not arrested." The property company overseeing the skyscraper said it could not "comment on the motive of the individual".
Twitter user Kevin Williams tweeted footage of the climb and wrote, "The guy's got to the top and is being spoken to by the police."
The 309.6-meter-tall (1,016-foot-tall) building is regarded as a favourite target of thrill-seekers and political campaigners out to raise awareness for their cause.
A spokesman for Real Estate Management, the asset management company that operates The Shard, told BBC, "We dealt with an incident at The Shard earlier this morning involving a member of the public who climbed the building. The person was safely apprehended and detained by police. Some areas around the base of The Shard that were closed to the public as a safety precaution have now been partially re-opened. Public safety and the security of the people who live, work and visit The Shard and the surrounding area is of paramount importance to us. Fortunately, no-one was hurt by this dangerous activity and we will be assisting the police with their investigation."
In the past, a group of Greenpeace activists scaled the building in 2013 to protest against oil drilling in the Arctic. The last attempt which was reported was made in 2017 by a YouTuber who posts video of his climbs. In 2012, to stop his planned attempt, the Shard secured a court injunction against Alain Robert who is popularly known as the French Spiderman.
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