UNIPA News| New York 02 July-Two Russian rooftop climbers were arrested after scaling the antenna of New York City’s Empire State Building and unfurling a peace-themed banner during what appeared to be a marriage proposal, police said.

The pair, identified by police as Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, climbed the 443-metre skyscraper’s antenna without safety tethers on Wednesday. Television footage showed them balancing on a narrow ledge, kissing near the top of the structure and displaying a banner reading: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”

After removing the banner, the couple descended to a wider platform where one appeared to kneel before the other in a proposal. The pair embraced, kissed and took photographs before officers from the New York Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit reached them.

Police body camera footage showed officers informing the climbers that they were not permitted to be on the antenna. An off-camera voice responded, “We are engaged,” before the pair were taken into custody.

Authorities charged the two with burglary, reckless endangerment and other offences. It was not immediately known whether they had legal representation.

The climbers are known publicly as Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus and were featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, which follows their unauthorized climbs of skyscrapers and other tall structures around the world.

The management of the Empire State Building described the incident as unauthorized and said it did not endanger people inside the building. It did not explain how the climbers gained access to the restricted antenna area.

Visitors to the building undergo security screening and are prohibited from bringing large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks.

A tourist on one of the observation decks told local television stations she saw the pair pass through restricted gates and initially assumed they were building workers.

The incident also disrupted access to the landmark, with visitors temporarily prevented from entering while emergency personnel responded.

Unauthorized climbs of the Empire State Building have occurred on previous occasions, although actor and musician Jared Leto was granted permission to climb to the base of the antenna in 2023 as part of a promotional event.