Deadly New York City Crane Collapse - 4 Dead as Crane Falls

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March 15, 2008 NEW YORK — A crane mounted to the side of a skyscraper under construction toppled with a roar Saturday, smashing into a block of apartment buildings, killing at least two people and setting off a scramble for survivors in the rubble. The collapsing crane demolished parts of several buildings on Manhattan's East Side, appeared to have pulverized one small, brick apartment building, and sent up a huge dust cloud over the neighborhood.
Fire Department officials said at least two people were dead and several others were taken to hospitals. An intensive, but delicate rescue operation was under way to free anyone still trapped in the rubble. Firefighters searched piles of rubble, several stories high, looking for victims, according to television reports. John PlaGreco, who owns Fu Bar in the crushed building, said he feared one of his employees was dead in the rubble. "Our bar is done," he said. "The crane crashed the whole building. If I wasn't watching a Yankees game, I would've come to work early and gotten killed."

About 19 of the 44 stories of the high-rise condominium had been erected, and the 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."

Kaplan said the company had subcontracted the work to different companies and was not in charge of the crane. He wasn't sure if any workers at the site were among those killed. Neighborhood residents said they had complained to the city several times about the construction at the site, saying crews worked illegal hours and the building was going up too fast.
Nearby residents reported hearing a terrible roar as the structure detached from the condominium. "First I heard a rumble, and it increased, and then it increased," said Bill Reilly, who lives a block away. "It continued building in strength until there was a final vroom! It shook the six-story brick building that I live in."

The crane split into pieces as it fell. Part of it came to rest against an apartment tower, smashing into its upper floors. That building and others in the area were evacuated. Another piece hit other buildings on the block, ripping away walls and ceilings and crushing the small brick building.
Witnesses reported a strong smell of gas in the area on 51st Street near 2nd Avenue. Gas utility Consolidated Edison said it shut off service to area buildings. Ben Galati, 54, said he was in the basement of a high-rise apartment building across the street where he is a doorman.

"I heard a rumble outside. I said 'Let's get out of here!' And then the crane came down. A split second later, I heard an explosion," he said.
Maureen Shey, who lives diagonal from the building where the crane collapsed, said she was on the phone laying on her bed when she saw the giant white crane heading straight for her windows.

"I heard a big crash, and I saw dust immediately. Bricks were flying through the air. I saw the whole thing. I thought the crane was coming in my window," she said. The crane ended up missing her building.


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Deadly New York City Crane Collapse, Crane Collapse, Crane Falls, Crane Falls Manhattan, Breaking News, four dead, 4 dead, Construction accident
Deadly New York City Crane Collapse, Crane Collapse, Crane Falls, Crane Falls Manhattan, Breaking News, four dead, 4 dead, Construction accident

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[fastlaid]

this is not funny...!!!! i am a tower crane operator myself.

[03jonesr2]

its not funny if people died!

[MsDrummermike]

Thank fuck IM a midget... It missed me....

[marcel911]

wow. Nasty. I can't believe I never saw this on the news in the UK. Something like this should have made it over hear.

[injurydoctornyc]

Later they discovered that their was a crack in the crane, and that the welders were not so comforitble with their work, but the company ignored this knowledge. I hope the families and those injured by the company will be compensated for their losses. How tragic of an event.

[vontrop]

@dman1590 have you ever heard of someone getting a permit to work in local 14s area?

[vontrop]

@dman1590 its strange , my dispatcher from my local called and talked to them twice to help me get cleared and they said they were slow.

i went thru the apprenticeship , salted for the union , went on strike ect and they still wont c;ear me yet.

there is plenty of work here in nyc - let me know if you need some leads, a few outfits tried to hire me but i had to say "i dont have clearance "

[dman1590]

@vontrop yeah 15's hall is moving im surprised they wouldnt clear you or put you on permit

[vontrop]

@dman1590 by the way there is a ton of work in 15 s area i had 2 offers in 10 days to run a backhoe but i had to say no (15 wont clear me in from local 324 detroit)

i guess im off to the non union side, that sucks!

good luck and thanks for the info

[vontrop]

@dman1590 i moved to nyc and got on with a utility company very fast(local 15 said to get my own work and call them) unfortunately the outfit lost their contract and local 15 said they were slow.

thanks for the info

[dman1590]

@vontrop im in 14b, the main difference between 14 and 15 is 14 is mostly h&p while 15 had more utility type jobs, the b in 14 basically denotes you dont have a crane license yet

[vontrop]

Can someone tell me the difference between local 14 and local 15 operating engineers

Also what is local 14 b ? What is the b for?

I am an operator from Detroit and we have a bet about this