NEW YORK - Two window washers left dangling from a collapsed scaffold near the top of a New York City skyscraper have been rescued.

The men were stuck Wednesday afternoon at the 600-foot Hearst building in midtown Manhattan.

Fire department officials say workers cut open windows on the 44th floor and pulled the men inside to safety. The window washers and a firefighter moved slowly from the scaffolding to the opening.

The metal scaffold appeared to have buckled in the middle, into an elongated V shape. The men were on either side, communicating with firefighters on the roof of the 46-story building for about an hour and a half before they were rescued.

The Hearst Tower is the world headquarters of the Hearst Corp. and the first green high-rise office building in the city.