Firefighters removed a giant ice column on the external wall of a building in northwest China.

Video filmed in Altay Prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on November 28 shows a fireman using a hammer to break the ice formations on the roof of a building.

He was then seen hanging in the air by a rope to remove a 5-metre-long and 1.2-metre-wide ice column on the external wall of the building.

Since the temperature reached -40 degrees Celsius, a large number of ice columns formed on a hospital building, which caused safety risks.

After more than two hours, three firefighters completely removed all the ice columns.

The video was provided by local media with permission.

连日来，阿勒泰地区出现连续降雪降温天气，尤其是房顶积雪较厚，加上室内暖气温度较高，房檐部分积水沿窗流下，形成长短不一的冰柱，给过往行人及车辆带来安全隐患。
11月28日，阿勒泰地区青河县最低气温降至约零下40度。16时许，阿勒泰地区消防救援支队指挥中心接到求助电话称，位于青河县青河镇卫生院门诊楼外有大量冰柱，存在安全隐患，亟需清除。
接警后，青河县友好南路消防救援站消防指战员到达现场后，发现一处冰柱较大，长约5米，宽约1.2米，从三楼楼顶一直垂到二楼，部分电线网线也被包在其中。根据现场情况，指挥员立即在楼下设立警戒区域，由3名消防员携带安全绳、消防钩、全身吊带等装备，爬到楼顶开展清冰作业。
为了防止冰柱突然掉落，指战员首先利用绳索将其捆绑，待其脱离墙体后，再缓慢降至地面，最大程度降低额外风险隐患。为了不让伸出楼外的电线、网线受损，指战员利用小型破拆工具，一点点敲击冰坨，将电线、网线与冰柱分离。历时2个多小时，终于将冰柱全部清除干净。