A construction worker who was suspended in mid-air by a safety rope was saved by firefighters in a daring rescue in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sunday (Dec 4).

The man, surnamed Xu, who is from Anhui province in eastern China, slipped and fell from a seven-storey tall crane while attempting to dismantle it, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

Fortunately, he had tied a safety rope around himself. For about 20 to 30 minutes, he was suspended about 20m from the ground, and in pain.

The jerking of the rope around his chest broke two of his ribs and cracked another two.

When two fire engines and 14 firemen arrived at the scene, they saw Mr Xu hanging awkwardly by a single rope, a pool of blood below him.

He could barely respond when they spoke to him, the report said.

The firefighters tried to get a ladder truck to Mr Xu, but it could not fit into the space at the site.

Instead, they had to straddle a 9m-long ladder between the building and the crane, and a firefighter then carried Mr Xu back to safety.

"I tied another safety rope around him, and checked many times before I cut the rope that was holding him. Then I carried him and walked back," the firefighter told Qianjiang Evening News. They walked about 5m on the ladder.

Mr Xu was immediately taken to hospital and was recovering when reporters visited him on Tuesday.