by David Cruz 

The sister of one of the window washers trapped inside a scaffold near the 68th floor of the World Trade Center said her brother, Juan Lopez, who family says lives in Norwood, remains shaken but will likely return to the job. 

Two days before Lopez and Juan Lizama were left dangling atop the World Trade Center for ninety minutes after the scaffold they were operating on malfunctioned.

Marlene Lopez, Juan’s sister, recounted the moment she learned about the accident–walking from work when she received a frantic phone call from her mother.

“She said ‘your brother’s in the scaffold and something happened,'” said Marlene, 42, Juan’s sister, speaking to reporters at Juan’s apartment lobby on Perry Avenue. “‘My mother was very hysterical. My brothers and my sisters.'”

Lopez, 33, an employee with Upgrade Service, immigrated from Peru two years ago. He’s married with four children. While suspended by the World Trade Center he was unable to make phone calls. The wind chill caused Lopez to suffer from hypothermia.

Marlene praised the “excellent” work of FDNY and EMS crews for saving her brother, despite the altitude. He was rushed to Bellevue to be treated for hypothermia. Juan did not wish to speak to reporters, his sister explaining the experience was still too fresh to talk about. “He’s in shock,” she said. “He said he’s going to talk, but needs time.”

Additional reporting by Catharina Thuemling.