A CONSTRUCTION CRANE ERECTING A HIGH-RISE CONDOMINIUM BUILDING on New York City’s upper East side collapsed Saturday afternoon.

New York Times

The upper section of the crane fell onto a 4-story town house and completely demolished it.  At least four construction workers are believed to have been killed in the accident and 10 others injured.  There were unknown numbers of people in the building at the time, so the death toll is likely to rise.  A restaurant on the ground floor was buried under the rubble and it is known that there were people in there.

New York Times

The crane was attached to the side of the building under construction which had reached the 19th-floor level.  It is planned to be 44 stories high when completed. 

Gas company crew rolls car over
searching for a shutoff valve (Reuters)

The Associated Press is reporting:

(T)he crane was scheduled to be extended Saturday so workers could start work on a fresh story, said an owner of the company that manages the construction site.

A piece of steel fell and sheared off one of the ties holding it to the building, causing it to detach and topple, said Stephen Kaplan, an owner of the Reliance Construction Group.

“It was an absolute freak accident,” Kaplan said. “All the piece of steel had to do was fall slightly left or right, and nothing would have happened.”

 Search and rescue crews will be on the scene throughout the night as the demolished building is picked away piece by piece.  Search dogs and thermal imaging devices were being used in the search.

The New York Times has the STORY.

Reuters

Full 38-image Slideshow gallery HERE.

Associated Press

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