Window washers saved from scaffold dangling from One World Trade Center

Rescue crews rushed to One World Trade Center early Wednesday afternoon where scaffolding is dangling from the side of the soaring tower.

Two window washers were trapped outside the 69th floor of the skyscraper in downtown Manhattan until they were rescued through the glass at 2:15 and 2:16 p.m.

"It was within two minutes," FDNY spokesman Brian Norton told Yahoo News. "We cut the window and pulled them in … They are going be evaluated."

His colleague Frank Dwyer said they received a call about the frightening scene around 12:42 p.m.

“We have more than a dozen units including several highly trained specialized rescue companies that deal with high-angle rescues,” Dwyer said to Yahoo News at the time.

“We have them tethered. They have safety harnesses,” Dwyer continued. “We are in communication with them. We are working to remove them as we speak.”

Emergency workers could be seen cutting a glass window from inside the Freedom Tower shortly after 2 p.m. to retrieve the stranded workers.

Despite the swift response by authorities, the harrowing sight continued to frighten onlookers.

"Jesus Christ how scary! Hanging from the 50th floor! Absolutely horrified right now," witness Deshana Hamid wrote on a picture she uploaded to Instagram.

Scaffolding rescues are not terribly uncommon, especially in cities like New York.

In January, FDNY firefighters rescued two workers who were on a scaffold when it collapsed on New York's Upper East Side. In June, another two workers were rescued in Midtown when the scaffolding they were standing on suddenly tilted, leaving them dangling 12 stories above until emergency responders from the FDNY and NYPD could pull them to safety.

In April, a construction worker fell eight stories to his death from scaffolding outside New York's Dream Hotel.