A massive construction crane collapsed in New York City Friday morning, killing one person and injuring three others.
Emergency crews responded after the crane toppled over in Lower Manhattan.
The construction crane collapsed in the borough’s Tribeca neighbourhood around 8:30 a.m., crushing several vehicles.
New York City Fire Department said the crane came down on top of a car, killing one person.
Photos from the scene show streets littered with debris and crumpled metal.
A witness told CBS New York that when the crane came down “it felt like a bomb.”
“This is just crazy, it’s huge — it’s enormous,” the witness said.
Another witness said the crane stretches two city blocks.
PHOTO GALLERY:
“Cars are crushed in half,” the man said. “It sounded like it was just metal on metal”
At least three people were injured, two of them seriously, the fire department said.
The crawler crane was being moved into a secure position because of high winds when the structure collapsed, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a morning press conference.
“This incident literally happened when workers were trying to secure the crane,” the mayor said.
De Blasio said construction workers had closed off some of the area to traffic as the crew attempted to secure the crane.
“It’s something of a miracle more people were not hurt,” he said.
As a precaution, the mayor ordered all cranes in the city to be lowered into a secure position.
“It’s a very painful day,” the mayor said.
De Blasio said this is the first crane collapse in the city since 2008.
Comments