A teenager who climbed a crane 20 storeys high in the middle of Adelaide has been dramatically arrested after more than eight hours of negotiation.

Police were notified that a man was sitting on the edge of the machinery on a commercial building site on the corner of King William and Gilbert streets about 8pm yesterday.

The scene drew crowds of anxious people underneath.

"At one point, he went from the inside of the crane to the outside of the crane and was looking down," witness Mikaela Mudie told 9News.

"So that was when we were all really concerned for his safety. And we kept watching, and he kept going higher and higher."

Police officers called in the Special Tasks and Rescue Group and specialist negotiators to persuade the man to safely climb back down.

They tried to reach him

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