This is the bizarre moment an excavator operator attempts to demolish a building from the top down while being hoisted up by a crane.
The unusual approach to an otherwise typical part of construction work was recorded by an unnamed witness in Shijiazhuang, in northern China’s Hebei Province.
Phone footage shows a worker sitting in an excavator that has been lifted about 10 stories high to the roof of a building meant to be torn down.
The operator appears to be attempting to rip off the roof tiles with the claw on one end.
On the other end, pieces of debris can be seen falling off after being crushed under the weight of the excavator’s tracks.
The camera then zooms out to show just how high the worker is perched up without even wearing any type of safety gear.
The person who filmed the bizarre operation – which social media users branded as an acrobatic stunt – said the worker even calmly lit up a cigarette in the middle of it.
The footage was later shared on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, leaving many netizens amazed at the amount of trust the worker has in the crane operator.
One user titled ‘banner’ said in a comment: “This guy actually did this, it’s almost as awesome as it is life-threatening.”
Another user titled ‘Roman’ commented: “What happens if the crane’s cable suddenly snaps?”
And user ‘1643785488898’ wrote: “Please ask National Taiwan University to demolish the building quickly and safely. This kind of crane also costs money, making it both expensive and dangerous.”
