A construction crane collapsed in lower Manhattan during a swirling snowstorm on Friday, killing one person, injuring three others and crushing cars parked in the street.
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Contributing: Michael Struening in New York City.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) had previously said the victim was in his vehicle.
The New York City mayor explained that the area near the crane had already been partially cleared of people and traffic so the construction crew could lower and secure the crane.
Two of the three people wounded have been identified as Dawn Kojima, 45, and Thomas O’Brien, 73.
The reasons behind this incident are still being investigated, but several factors must be taken into consideration, including the strong winds that blew over New York City this morning.
Despite initial fears, Michael Parella, a department spokesman, said there’s no indication any others were trapped in the collapse, though searches were underway to make sure.
City Department of Buildings inspectors checked the crane Thursday morning, when workers installed an extension on the upper boom. In response gas mains in the area were shut down and several buildings were evacuated.
Robert Harold, a Legal Aid lawyer, was in his office nearby.
Further details were not immediately known.
Witnesses described a deafening boom as the crane crashed to the street a few blocks from City Hall and a half-mile from the World Trade Center site.
Beginning Jan. 30, a crawler crane, which can extend up to 565 feet and lift 330 tons, occupied the two blocks of Worth Street between Church Street and Hudson Street for the goal of bringing generators and air conditioners to 60 Hudson Street, the former Western Union Building, according to officials.
“You can see how powerful the damage was, but you can also see that it was something of a miracle there were not more casualties”, Mayor de Blasio said.
A frightening video of a crane collapsing in mid-town Manhattan has been released from construction workers working nearby.
Vallelong says the crane was not carrying a load at the time.
In April, a construction worker died when the hydraulics malfunctioned on the boom truck he was inspecting in midtown Manhattan, causing the boom to collapse and fall on him, pinning him against the flatbed.
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A man who answered the phone at Bay Crane said that the matter was under investigation and that they were waiting to hear back from their “field people”, but would not confirm if the crane was owned by the company.
