The top portion of a construction crane caught fire and collapsed on the west side of Manhattan on Wednesday, injuring several people as debris rained down on the street during the morning rush hour, authorities said. Firefighters and rescue personnel responded to the scene, blocking traffic in the surrounding streets and through the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey. The crane buckled at about 7:30 a.m. in the area of 10th and 11th avenues and West 41 and 42 streets, near the Hudson Yards complex, the New York City Police Department said on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. The NYPD urged people to avoid the area. Five people suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the crane collapse, according to a source with the New York City Fire Department. The Associated Press has the story:
5 people injured in New York City high-rise Crane Collapse
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
A tall construction crane caught fire in Manhattan on Wednesday morning, and its arm hit a building as it crashed to the street below. A towering construction crane caught fire high above the west side of Manhattan, then lost its long arm, which smashed against a nearby building, dangled and then plummeted to the street as people ran for their lives on the sidewalk below.
Five people suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of a crane collapse Wednesday morning in Manhattan, according to a source with the New York City Fire Department.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters “As you can see from the debris on the street, this could have been much worse,” the Democrat said, noting that the street at that hour of the morning is often filled with pedestrians, cars and buses.
Photos and videos posted on social media show flames bursting from the car of a crane hundreds of feet above 10th Avenue at 41st Street. The crane’s arm scraped the top floors of a skyscraper across the street as it fell.
Video footage of the scene posted on social media showed the top part of the crane snapping and falling to the ground, grazing a nearby building on its way down. At the same time, fire and smoke can be seen rising from the crane’s cabin.
The fire atop the 54-story building was reported around 7:25 a.m. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flames bursting from the car of a crane hundreds of feet above 10th Avenue at 41st Street. The crane’s arm, which was carrying a 16-ton load, snapped off after the fire had been burning for a period of time.
Multiple civilians and firefighters suffered minor injuries when the crane boom, a 16-ton load of concrete being lifted and debris from the nearby building fell into the street.
There were reports of 5 injuries from the crane fire and collapse, which happened shortly before 8 a.m.
The person operating the crane tried to put out the fire as it spread, but then had to flee to safety, according to Fire Department First Deputy Commissioner Joseph Pfeifer.
Firefighters stationed on a roof deck of another building used hoses to battle the blaze. Surrounding streets were closed to traffic.
The location on Manhattan’s West Side is near the Port Authority Bus Terminal and an entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, which carries auto traffic to and from New Jersey under the Hudson River.
Pedestrians on the sidewalk below were seen running away as fire trucks and emergency vehicles arrived in response to a five-alarm fire, apparently in the cab of the crane.
“Expect smoke, traffic delays, and a presence of emergency personnel and vehicles in the area,” the city said in an alert sent to New Yorkers.
