New York City Crane Collapses: Kills 1, Injures 3
A crane collapsed in New York on Friday morning, killing at least one person, according to USA Today.
The Associated Press reported that the crash happened around 8:25 a.m. in the Tribeca neighborhood, just 10 blocks away from the World Trade Center.
Even early in the morning, New York City is a busy place, and numerous residents were already out on the roads when the crash occurred. Many of these people witnessed the collapse.
One witness, Jesse Natale, told the New York Daily News in an interview that he had been at a traffic light close by when the crane came down.
“If I caught that light, I’d be dead probably. It looked like an avalanche — or that the roof was caving in from the snow.”
#BREAKING Crane Collapse in Lower Manhattan @TimScheld on the scene pic.twitter.com/VxTlkm49pD
— WCBS 880 (@wcbs880) February 5, 2016
Another civilian, Robert Harold, works for the Legal Aid Society located in one of the nearby buildings. He relayed his frightening experience to the Associated Press earlier this morning.
“It was right outside my window. It was a crashing sound. You could feel the vibration in the building. I looked out the window and saw it lying in the street.”
Images of the collapsed crane reveal many crushed cars caught beneath the wreckage. Debris lies scattered on the road from the crane scraping buildings on its way down.
At least one dead in New York City crane collapse https://t.co/0ZR5YcOs76 pic.twitter.com/6Xp8mtpsHv
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) February 5, 2016
“New York City’s Office of Emergency Management said three individuals were injured in the crash, two seriously. A fourth individual was killed,” ABC News reported.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the issue this morning at a press conference. He said that this was the first crane collapse since 2008, when a crash resulted in the death of four civilians. De Blasio lamented the fatal and dangerous outcomes of this terrible incident.
“This is a very sad incident. Thank God it was not worse. Our hearts go out to the family of the individual who was lost.”
He was working at a nearby building when he saw the crane shaking in the wind https://t.co/L5jFmqcmDF pic.twitter.com/KZ8gMUZuCC
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 5, 2016
De Blasio explained at the conference that the crane collapsed while being lowered into a safer, more secure position. New York City is experiencing dangerous weather today as another winter storm begins to make its way over the East Coast.
The Inquisitr reported that Winter Storm Jonah brought multiple feet of snow to New York a couple of weeks ago. Now, the city is experiencing strong winds up to and exceeding 20 mph with the storm that is rolling in. The manufacturing company that produced the machine instructs workers to lower the crane if winds increase up to this speed.
De Blasio confirmed that the crane had been inspected at approximately 6:20 a.m. Friday morning. The men using the crane had decided to postpone any work today due to the weather warnings and were attempting to secure the crane. If the crane had not been addressed at that time, the damage could have been much worse.
The crane was very large and has created a significant amount of damage. Nearby buildings may have been threatened by the collapse. The New York Fire Department has said that the stability of these buildings is currently being examined.
Additionally, there have been reports of suspicious gas odors. Currently, New York City officials have employed the company Con Ed to inspect the buildings and make sure that there are no threats to civilians living or working in the nearby area.
[Photo by Colleen Long/AP Images]
