170-Foot NYC Crane Collapse Kills 1, Hurts 4

Boom snaps, plunges into subway construction site
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 4, 2012 12:47 AM CDT
Updated Apr 4, 2012 1:15 AM CDT
170-Foot NYC Crane Collapse Kills 1, Hurts 4
Emergency personnel remove an injured person from the site of a crane collapse at a construction site extending the No. 7 subway line.   (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

A 170-foot crane cracked and tumbled to the ground last night, killing a workman and injuring four others. The upper section of the crane broke off during work in midtown on the extension of the No. 7 subway line. It crashed "like a dinosaur," a construction site worker told the New York Times. Investigators are "looking at some kind of failure in the rear of the crane," a source told the Times. A 30-year-old worker was killed. Those hurt were a crane operator, a flag man, a relative of one of the victims, and another man. Some were saved from 60 feet below ground, and ropes were used to lift people out. "It was a complicated job," said Fire Chief William Seelig. The rescue scene was a "very precarious area with a lot of construction material." (More Manhattan stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X