Police arrest daredevil in Argentina jersey for attempting to climb 30-storey skyscraper without ropes

Shweta Sharma
·2-min read

Polish climber Marcin Banot was arrested as he tried to scale a 30-storey building in Buenos Aires without harness, wearing the iconic number 10 Argentina football jersey.

The 36-year-old daredevil managed to scale 25 floors of the 410ft Globant building as surprised onlookers gathered to watch him perform the live stunt.

More than 30 firefighters, ambulances, and rescuers were deployed under the building after someone inside called the police.

He wore the Argentinian football team’s number 10 jersey – a number considered iconic due to its association with soccer legends such as Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.

Video footage zoomed in to show him trying to climb up as firefighters rushed to rescue him and onlookers watched in anticipation.

Known by his nickname “BNT” on social media, the urban climber has pulled similar stunts in other countries as well and has 2.7 million followers on YouTube.

Firefighters intercept Polish climber Marcin Banot (2nd-R) as he climbed a building in Puerto Madero wearing an Argentina national football team jersey with Lionel Messi's number 10 (AFP via Getty Images)
Firefighters intercept Polish climber Marcin Banot (2nd-R) as he climbed a building in Puerto Madero wearing an Argentina national football team jersey with Lionel Messi's number 10 (AFP via Getty Images)

However, his ambition was cut short after he was plucked from the building in a safety harness by firefighters and brought back to the ground.

Mr Banot did not resist arrest as he was taken into custody. He could be ordered to pay the cost of rescue operations, officials said.

Marcin Banot being taken in a police car (AFP via Getty Images)
Marcin Banot being taken in a police car (AFP via Getty Images)

It was his second attempt to climb the same building after he was taken down during his first attempt earlier.

Arrests and legal troubles are not new for rooftoppers. It is not known if he was scaling for a cause or a campaign as usually the urban climbers do.

Earlier this year, a free climber known as the “French Spiderman” scaled a skyscraper in Manila to bring attention to the South China Sea dispute amid incidents of standoffs between the Philippines and China.

Firefighters intercept Polish climber Marcin Banot (2nd-R) as he climbed a building in Puerto Madero (AFP via Getty Images)
Firefighters intercept Polish climber Marcin Banot (2nd-R) as he climbed a building in Puerto Madero (AFP via Getty Images)

Alain Robert, 61, briefly brought traffic to a standstill and drew a crowd of shocked onlookers in the Philippine capital’s financial district as he scaled a 47-storey building without a harness. He was swiftly arrested by the police as they waited for him to climb down.

Last year, a British man was taken into custody after he attempted to scale the world’s fifth tallest building without a harness. The man, identified by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper as George King-Thompson, managed to climb half-way up the building to the 73rd floor before South Korean authorities forced him to abandon his attempt to reach the top of 123-storey Lotte World Tower in Seoul.

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