OH NOT NOT. VERY BAD NEWS IN NEW YORK CRANE COLLACPSE 1 Dead , 3 Hurt in Lower Manhattan
At least one man was killed and at
least three other people were hurt when a crawler crane being secured
because of high winds toppled over in lower Manhattan Friday morning,
Mayor de Blasio said.
The
construction equipment was being lowered and secured because of winds
topping 20 mph when it toppled over at Worth and Church streets in
Tribeca at about 8:30 a.m., de Blasio said. The crane, owned by Bay
Crane and stretching more than 15-stories high, smashed into several
buildings on the way down before crashing onto several parked
According
to Storm Team 4, a ground-level gust of about 37 mph was reported about
a mile away from the crash site nine minutes before the collapse.
The collapse
killed one man who was sitting in his car, de Blasio said, and injured
three others. Two are in serious condition, while the third person had
minor injuries. The people who were hurt were hit by falling debris, and
the mayor said all of them were bystanders.
More than 100 firefighters responded to the scene along with dozens of EMS workers and police.
Police have set
up barricades around the scene. No. 1, 2 and 3 subway trains are
bypassing stops at Chambers Street and Franklin street stops.
The crane
crashed down so hard that it disrupted underground infrastructure, Con
Edison spokesman Alfonso Quiroz said. The utility told NBC 4 New York
that they got a gas reading at an address on Worth Street and has shut
down gas mains in the area. Several buildings have been evacuated and
authorities are looking to secure four nearby buildings.
De Blasio said that it will take several days to clean up the area.
"It will
certainly take several days, certainly no earlier than Monday, possibly
longer, before we can get things back to normal in these immediate
blocks," he said.
The
crane was being used at a building across the street from the NYPD
Sergeant's Benevolent Association. Members of the union were among the
first to respond after the collapse, according to Vice President Bob
Ganley.
"It was a scene," Ganley said. "It was surreal. It was like a war zone when it first happened."
Ganley said he
looked out the window and saw the crane crashing down, and others in
the building reported that the impact felt like an earthquake. Several
officers in the building ran outside and began helping people who were
hurt, assisting a person trapped in a car and covering the body of the
man who died with a blanket.
The crane is
owned by Bay Crane, but it was being operated by Galasso Trucking and
Rigging. Bay Crane declined to comment on the collapse to NBC 4 New
York, but de Blasio said that the company requires its operators to take
down its cranes after gusts hit 20 mph.
Officials
say the crane that collapsed on Friday was a crawler. Crawler cranes
are mounted on an undercarriage with a set of caterpillar tracks to
provide mobility.
Department of Buildings officials had cleared the site a day before the collapse, de Blasio said.
“Our
department of buildings personnel had been on the site yesterday to
approve the next steps in the work on that building," he said. "They had
inspected the crane yesterday morning at 6:20 a.m. and reviewed the
work that was being done and had approved it.”
Bay crane owner from long island New York
Bay crane owner from long island New York
Ganley
told NBC 4 New York that he was talking with someone outside his
building on Thursday afternoon and was uncomfortable with the height of
the crane's boom, which stretched up several stories.
"I told him, 'That doesn't look good, does it?'" he said.
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