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French 'Spiderman' arrested after climbing Frankfurt skyscraper

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
French 'Spiderman' arrested after climbing Frankfurt skyscraper
Photos: AFP

Alain Robert, dubbed the French "Spiderman" for his exploits in climbing buildings around the world, was arrested Saturday in the German city of Frankfurt after scaling the "Skyper" tower, an AFP journalist reported.

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Robert, 57, reached the top of 154-metre (500 feet), 42-floor building in just half an hour -- without permission nor safety equipment - causing passersby to stop, stare and take photos.

Back on the ground, police moved into to arrest Robert who has chalked up a series of similar stunts across the globe since 1994, among them the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

In August, he climbed a Hong Kong skyscraper and unfolded a "peace" banner as massive and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests rocked the city.

On Saturday he gave no reason for his Skyper climb.

"This is what I love to do," Robert told reporters in 2018.

"I have pretty much dedicated my whole life to climb mountains, to climb cliffs, and now to climb buildings -- but always 'free soloing', meaning I'm not using safety devices." 

The maverick climber has scaled more than 100 structures without ropes or other safety equipment, setting a record for "most buildings climbed unassisted," according to Guinness World Records.

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Anonymous 2019/10/21 17:36
It's an addiction. He may survive, but he's likely to kill himself sooner or later.
Anonymous 2019/09/29 07:38
Good and throw away the key.

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