efq
16-03-2008, 02:23 PM
Four people have been killed and 10 others injured after a giant crane crushed a block of flats in New York.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1661005.jpg A scene of devastation
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the crane "basically just flattened" a four-story townhouse and damaged several other buildings as it fell apart.
The flattened building had a public bar on the ground floor, which was not open at the time otherwise the death toll might have been higher, he added.
Witness Greta Welkhammer said she looked up and saw the 19-storey crane "literally split in half" and saw the building "falling like a house of cards".
Mr Bloomberg said the crane broke during a routine operation to extend its height by inserting a section and raising the top part of the crane.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the accident and emergency workers are still searching in the rubble for anyone who might be trapped.
The four people killed were construction workers. Three of the 10 people injured are in a critical condition.
"Fortunately the bar was not open so there was either one or two people in that bar," he said.
One person was rescued alive from the bar and workers were searching to check if the second person was in fact in the bar at the time.
Cars on the street were buried in rubble, with one car flipped over on its side on 50th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1309449,00.html
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1661005.jpg A scene of devastation
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the crane "basically just flattened" a four-story townhouse and damaged several other buildings as it fell apart.
The flattened building had a public bar on the ground floor, which was not open at the time otherwise the death toll might have been higher, he added.
Witness Greta Welkhammer said she looked up and saw the 19-storey crane "literally split in half" and saw the building "falling like a house of cards".
Mr Bloomberg said the crane broke during a routine operation to extend its height by inserting a section and raising the top part of the crane.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the accident and emergency workers are still searching in the rubble for anyone who might be trapped.
The four people killed were construction workers. Three of the 10 people injured are in a critical condition.
"Fortunately the bar was not open so there was either one or two people in that bar," he said.
One person was rescued alive from the bar and workers were searching to check if the second person was in fact in the bar at the time.
Cars on the street were buried in rubble, with one car flipped over on its side on 50th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1309449,00.html