NEW YORK - Rescuers dug through debris in search of three people still missing Sunday a day after a construction crane crashed down on a Manhattan neighborhood, killing at least four people and damaging or demolishing six buildings.
“We're still calling it a search operation,” said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, who joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials at the scene of Saturday's devastating accident. But “with each passing hour, things get a little more grim.”
Crews removed a 25-foot section of the white crane that broke into pieces Sunday afternoon, and had about 180 feet left to remove piece by piece, along with piles of debris from the damaged buildings. Two other construction workers and a woman who was staying in an apartment at the brownstone are missing, the mayor said.
“So far, we've not found any of them,” he said.
Twenty-four others were injured, including 11 first responders, Bloomberg said. Eight remained hospitalized Sunday, officials said. Killed were workers Wayne Bleidner, 51, of Pelham; Brad Cohen, no age or address available; Anthony Mazza, 39; and Aaron Stephens, 45, of New York City, police said Sunday.
The missing woman had come from Miami to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and visit a friend who lived in the brownstone, said John LeGreco, owner of Fubar, a tavern on the ground floor. The woman was in her friend's second-floor apartment at the time of the collapse, he said. Her friend was rescued, he said.
The crane was attached to an apartment tower under construction on East 51st Street east of Second Avenue when it broke away from its anchors Saturday and toppled south, crashing into buildings on 51st and 50th streets.
Next to the destroyed brownstone, a six-story gray apartment building on 50th Street and Second Avenue was missing an upper corner, as if a giant had clawed it. Dusty furniture and paintings were visible from the street.
City officials said the broken crane was inspected Friday. The crane was being lengthened with a new section, a process known as “jumping,” when it fell.
Bloomberg said investigators were looking at either mechanical failure or “perhaps human error” as a cause of the accident.
“As far as we can tell, all procedures that were called for were being followed,” the mayor added.
He said that about 250 cranes are operating in the city on any given day, and the accident should not alarm New Yorkers living near high-rise construction sites.
“Do I think that you should worry if there's a crane across the street? No,” Bloomberg said. “This is such a rare thing that I don't think we should worry about it.”
The city had issued 13 violations in the past 27 months to the construction site.
Crews removed a 25-foot section of the white crane that broke into pieces Sunday afternoon, and had about 180 feet left to remove piece by piece, along with piles of debris from the damaged buildings. Two other construction workers and a woman who was staying in an apartment at the brownstone are missing, the mayor said.
“So far, we've not found any of them,” he said.
Twenty-four others were injured, including 11 first responders, Bloomberg said. Eight remained hospitalized Sunday, officials said. Killed were workers Wayne Bleidner, 51, of Pelham; Brad Cohen, no age or address available; Anthony Mazza, 39; and Aaron Stephens, 45, of New York City, police said Sunday.
The missing woman had come from Miami to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and visit a friend who lived in the brownstone, said John LeGreco, owner of Fubar, a tavern on the ground floor. The woman was in her friend's second-floor apartment at the time of the collapse, he said. Her friend was rescued, he said.
The crane was attached to an apartment tower under construction on East 51st Street east of Second Avenue when it broke away from its anchors Saturday and toppled south, crashing into buildings on 51st and 50th streets.
Next to the destroyed brownstone, a six-story gray apartment building on 50th Street and Second Avenue was missing an upper corner, as if a giant had clawed it. Dusty furniture and paintings were visible from the street.
City officials said the broken crane was inspected Friday. The crane was being lengthened with a new section, a process known as “jumping,” when it fell.
Bloomberg said investigators were looking at either mechanical failure or “perhaps human error” as a cause of the accident.
“As far as we can tell, all procedures that were called for were being followed,” the mayor added.
He said that about 250 cranes are operating in the city on any given day, and the accident should not alarm New Yorkers living near high-rise construction sites.
“Do I think that you should worry if there's a crane across the street? No,” Bloomberg said. “This is such a rare thing that I don't think we should worry about it.”
The city had issued 13 violations in the past 27 months to the construction site.
The Citizens' Say
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