NYC crane collapse: 1 dead

[Chacor]

Chaos as crane collapses in NYC

At least one person has been killed by the sudden collapse of a crane in New York's Upper East Side during the morning rush hour.

It crashed into the top floor of a 23-storey block of flats as it fell.

Firefighters have rescued several people from the wreckage, and continue to search for other possible victims.

It is the second such incident in the city this year - seven people died in a crane collapse in the same wealthy Manhattan area in March.

This latest collapse took place at the intersection of East 91st Street and First Avenue.

Justine Elliot, who lives nearby, told the BBC News website that the crane had been visible from her window:

"I was checking my phone and email at 0805 this morning and heard what sounded like demolition... I saw the crane come down, missing some cars on the road. It looked like chaos as fire engines and choppers came to the scene and people gathered round to look."

"The sound was like a thunderclap. Then, an earthquake," Peter Barba, a resident, told the Associated Press news agency.

Mr Barba said it appeared that the entire cab came off the crane, and its main arm hit his building.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his morning radio show that the collapse was "unacceptable," and would be investigated.

Resignation

The 15 March crane accident destroyed a four-storey townhouse and demolished parts of five other buildings.

Contractors were trying to lengthen the crane when a steel support broke.

In April, New York's buildings commissioner resigned, after criticism over a number of construction accidents.

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan in New York says questions are now being asked about safety issues in Manhattan's construction industry.

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The link has a video report as well. Scary stuff.

[Cyclenall]

This year is known for its crane collapses, there was like 3 others this year. They said they would make sure they were safe, and it happens again in the same city.

[tropicana]

Numerous cranes go along with constructions booms (as it is also here in Toronto) It seems every other block has some sort of construction and huge cranes high in the air are not an unusual site.

Unfortunately, the more cranes there are, the more the likelihood of crane accidents now, and in the future. All efforts to ensure the safety of those who work on these projects and to those that pass by them daily should be paramount on the minds of those responsible. Time commitments not withstanding.
That being said, I am sure all safety precautions are carried out, there will sadly always be accidents.

[Dionne]

I have operated large cranes. The margin for error is very narrow. Cranes are like locomotive engineers. You do the job long enough and something is going to happen. Frequently your at maximum lift. Hydraulics can fail, sudden unexpected winds happen, metal fatigue.....tiny hairline cracks missed during daily inspections. When your lifting into the blind (radio communication only) without visibly seeing whats happening is the worst. Cranes fail everyday. Mean old Mr Gravity never sleeps.

[TexasStooge]

There are no crane collapses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, although inspectors are keeping a watchful eye on them.