Manhattan construction crane collapses, kills one

At least one person was killed when a massive construction crane collapsed in downtown Manhattan amid a swirling snowstorm on Friday morning, a spokesman for the New York City Fire Department said.

>>Reuters
Published : 5 Feb 2016, 04:04 PM
Updated : 5 Feb 2016, 04:04 PM

Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency responders rushed to the scene after the crane fell just before 8:30 a.m. EST, landing on the street and crushing around half a dozen cars during the busy morning rush.

Two other people suffered serious injuries and were transported to a local hospital, the fire official said. A third person suffered a minor injury.

Local media reported there were additional injuries and that several people were trapped inside cars but Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports. Mayor Bill de Blasio was expected to hold a press conference later on Friday.

It was not immediately clear whether the strong winds played a role in the collapse. The crane appeared to be several hundred feet tall and stretched along the street for more than one city block.

Alfred Simon, a construction worker who was working in a next-door building when the crane fell, said he heard a boom.

"I felt the vibration from the fall," he said.

The streets around the collapse were shut to vehicular traffic, and a major subway line running the length of Manhattan was bypassing a station near the accident.

The crane, which had the words "Bay Crane" written on its side, was flipped upside down on the street.

A person answering the phone at the office of Bay Crane in the borough of Queens would not discuss the accident or confirm that the crane belonged to the company.

It was not clear what type of work the crane was doing.

Another construction worker, who declined to be identified, said the crane was being used to lift machinery to the roof of 60 Hudson Street, which houses offices for several telecommunications companies.

Worth Street is in busy downtown Manhattan, approximately a half-mile north of the World Trade Center site and a few blocks away from City Hall and other government buildings.

In May, a construction crane cable snapped at a high-rise office building in midtown Manhattan as it was lifting an air conditioning unit to the top of the structure, sending the unit plunging nearly 30 stories. Ten people, including two construction workers, were injured.