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BRIEF: Minnesota man dead after falling down Chicago hotel smokestackDec 13, 2012 (Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A Minnesota man trying to take a photo atop a hotel in Chicago died Thursday, Dec. 13, after falling more than two stories down a smokestack. The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after spending four hours in the smokestack, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune. He fell shortly after 1 a.m. Rescue crews spent hours cutting through walls at the Intercontinental Hotel trying to rescue the man, who was wedged in the 6-foot-wide smokestack, where a chute angled before dropping 42 floors, according to rescue authorities. The man was communicating via his cellphone until shortly after 3:15 a.m. He was removed at 5 a.m. The rescue brought 30 companies and more than 100 firefighters and paramedics to the scene, according to the report. The man's identity was not released. Joseph Lindberg can be reached at 651-228-5513. Follow him at twitter.com/JosephLindberg. ___ (c)2012 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |