New York City crane collapse – live: 12 injured after 16 tonnes of concrete rains down on Manhattan
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A construction crane caught fire and partially collapsed in the heart of Manhattan on Wednesday morning, sending commuters fleeing for their lives as rubble rained down onto the streets below.
The fire broke out at around 7.30am ET on a crane on a building under construction along W 41st St and 10th Avenue, close to Hudson Yards.
Bystander footage showed the top of the crane alight before it suddenly collapsed, crashing into a building opposite where it appeared to smash several windows. New Yorkers in the streets below were seen running away from the carnage.
Two construction workers told The Indepednent about the “terrifying” moment the building they were working in was suddenly struck by the crane.
“We’re walking down the stairs and that’s when you hear the boom, boom, boom,” Alexander, a construction worker who only wished to be identified by his first name, told The Independent.
Twelve people – nine civilians and three firefighters – were injured in the collapse, the FDNY told CNN.
All suffered non-life threatening injuries while one of the firefighters suffered chest pains.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that it was “extremely lucky” more people weren’t hurt.
Shocking photos show debris in Manhattan road
Mayor Eric Adams: ‘Extremely lucky’ more weren’t injured
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said that it was “extremely lucky” that more people weren’t injured in the crane collapse.
Four civilians and one firefighter suffered minor injuries in the incident on Wednesday morning when the crane caught fire and collapsed, sending 16 tonnes of concrete and parts of the crane tumbling to the ground.
The mayor said it was “extremely lucky there weren’t more injuries given the concrete spread over such a large area when it hit the ground”.
The incident took place during a busy time when a lot of New Yorkers will have been commuting to work.
WATCH: NYC Mayor Eric Adams says its ‘fortunate’ only four civilians were injured in crane collapse
Video shows crane crashing into Manhattan skyscraper after catching fire
This terrifying footage shows a large construction crane on fire in Manhattan. The arm of the crane hits a building as it crashes into the street below. Videos posted across social media show flames bursting from the crane above 10th Avenue on 41st street. The crane’s arm scraped the top floors of a skyscraper across the street as it fell, shortly before 8am New York time. There are no immediate reports of any injuries. Emergency services are at the scene.
Flashback: 2016 crane collapse kills one in Tribeca
In 2016, one person was killed and three people were seriously injured after a crane collapsed in Lower Manhattan. The crane collapsed on several parked cars, crushing their roofs.
Videos and pictures from the scene showed the large metal frame splayed across the street, and initial reports suggested people are trapped in cars.
The crane spanned the entire length of at least one block when it fell to the ground in Worth Street, TriBeCa.
Here’s our report from the time:
New York crane collapse: Construction accident in lower Manhattan leaves one dead, three injured
The crane fell to the ground in Worth Street in TriBeCa and spanned the entire length of the street
Crane on barge crashes and splinters iconic Brooklyn Bridge
A crane crashed into New York City's iconic Brooklyn Bridge, cracking and splitting a steel beam on the landmark. The crane was being transported on a barge passing through the East River. Despite the impact, the bridge hasn't sustained any structural damage. The footage shows a barge passing under the bridge, seemingly getting the crane atop it caught on the track system underneath the significant landmark. According to the Coast Guard Operations Unit, the damage was caused when "A crane barge was traveling underneath the bridge and a crane struck a track under the bridge". The New York City Fire Department inspected the incident and concluded that the crane “Didn’t impact the integrity” of the bridge.
Earlier: Parking garage collapse in lower Manhattan leaves one dead
In April, a parking garage collapsed in lower Manhattan, killing one and leaving others injured and potentially trapped under the rubble.
Emergency responders were called to a parking garage near Nassau Street in the Financial District on 19 April just after 4pm.
One person died in the collapse, according to Mayor Eric Adams, who held a press conference near the site.
Graig Graziosi filed this report.
Parking garage collapse leaves one dead in lower Manhattan
The second floor of a building and parking garage in New York crumbled onto the first
New York partly shuttered four parking garages after deadly collapse
After the deadly collapse of a parking structure in lower Manhattan, New York City building officials swept through dozens of parking garages and ordered four of them to immediately shutter because of structural issues that “deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety.”
Read on...
NYC partly shutters 4 parking garages after deadly collapse
Four New York City parking garages are being shuttered because they may be unsafe
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