Manhattan Construction Crane Collapse Aftermath Walkthrough - Times Square to Hell's Kitchen, NYC
A construction crane collapsed this morning (July 26,2023) in Manhattan. The incident occurred at a vacant construction site on 10th Avenue and 41st Street1. Six people, including four civilians and two firefighters, suffered minor injuries. The crane caught fire high above the West Side of Manhattan before losing its long arm, which smashed against a nearby building, dangled and plummeted to the street.
The fire broke out while the crane operator was lifting about 16 tons of concrete. The operator tried to extinguish the fire but was overwhelmed by the flames and got out of the crane’s cab safely. Officials believe the fire weakened the crane’s cabling “to a point where it loses its strength, and that’s where the collapse occurred”.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pledged a “full investigation” into the crane collapse that injured six people including two firefighters1. City investigators are working to discover exactly what caused the crane to collapse, if operator or mechanical failure played a part, and how the incident figures into public safety during construction activity in New York.
Sources:
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crane-catches-fire-collapses-new-york-city-hells-kitchenn64c11da5e4b053a7009384bf
- https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/26/us/nyc-crane-collapse/index.html
- https://www.mcall.com/2023/07/26/pedestrians-scatter-as-fire-causes-new-york-construction-cranes-arm-to-collapse-and-crash-to-street/
- https://lasvegassun.com/news/2023/jul/26/pedestrians-scatter-as-fire-causes-new-york-constr/
