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Warning: This story depicts highly dangerous activities that should not be replicated.
A pair of Russian "roofers" are wanted for questioning by Malaysian police after they purportedly climbed the Merdeka 118 building in Kuala Lumpur, the world's second tallest building.
Slaying the spire
According to the New Straits Times, Roofer Ivan Beerkus uploaded pictures of his ascent to the top of Merdeka 118 on skyscrapercity.com.
Roofers are urban daredevils who climb manmade structures. They often accumulate a good amount of online clout for they post daring pictures of themselves in very dangerous locations.
Beerkus uploaded the pictures of him and his partner Angela Nikolau onto the site on Dec. 26, showing an impressive shot of them overlooking the KL cityscape taken by a drone. It is unknown when the pictures were taken.
Image via Beerkus/skyscrapercity.com
He also uploaded a video of the pair standing atop the building's spire while the drone camera pans out to reveal the whole building below them.
The pair appear to have used the spire's internal ladders to make the final ascent, having posted a picture of one of them inside the spire.
Image via Beerkus/skyscrapercity.com
Papers, please
KL Deputy Police Chief Yahaya Othman is looking to record statements from the pair, who will be investigated for trespassing, the Malay Mail reported.
He also added that the police have yet to receive a report on the incident from Merdeka 118's owners.
Beerkus, in another Instagram post, said that several attempts had been made by others to climb the tower, resulting in months of prison time.
"There are many closed doors and CCTV cameras inside the building. Which makes it the most desirable building in the world," he wrote.
Nikolau similarly posted about the stunt, saying that she had successfully completed the climb as well as escaped imprisonment.
According to the New Straits Times, it is not verified whether anyone has ever been arrested for climbing Merdeka 118, although a person was arrested in 2009 for climbing the Petronas Twin Towers.
Tower Defense
Merdeka 118 is the world's second tallest skyscraper ahead of Shanghai Tower, and the world's second tallest structure ahead of the Tokyo Skytree. It is behind Dubai's Burj Khalifa in both categories.
Its unusual, off-centre shape is said to be a tribute to Tunku Abdul Rahman's merdeka declaration from the Merdeka Stadium, when Malaysia declared its independence from the British.
The stadium has been incorporated into the Merdeka 118 development, which is expected to open in 2023.
Top image via Beerkus/Instagram & Beerkus/skyscrapercity.com