Crane Drops Load on Madison Ave, Injuring 10

New York City officials said a large piece of mechanical equipment — possibly an air conditioning unit, about the size of a small bus — being lifted by a crane at an office building in midtown Manhattan broke free and fell about 28 stories to the street below on Sunday morning. Ten people including two construction workers were injured, but none of the injuries was considered life-threatening.

"Thank God this incident occurred at an hour of the day on a weekend when there were not too many people around," said Mayor Bill de Blasio who spoke to reporters at the site a couple of hours after the collapse.

Police said the call came in around 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Officers who responded to the high-rise building at 261 Madison Avenue found that a crane's payload heading to the top of the building had broken free. It fell onto the street, shearing the side of the building along the way. The building is wider at the base, and narrows at the higher floors.

"We're lucky that this piece of equipment didn't fall directly into one of those set-back roofs and go through the building," said FDNY Chief Ronald Spadafora, who spoke at the site along with other agency officials.

The impact of the unit on the street caused puffs of smoky debris on Madison Avenue and damaged at least one car.

Rick Chandler of the city's Department of Buildings said the crane had undergone a routine inspection but that an investigation would determine what went wrong.

One lane of traffic had been open on Madison Avenue at the time of the collapse, according to NYPD Chief Carlos Gomez. He said 5 of the injured were in cars.

Streets were closed in the surrounding area following the collapse, as emergency crews worked to secure the crane. Mayor de Blasio said they hoped to reopen the area before the Monday morning rush hour.

Amanda Topaz said she was riding in a taxi near the site right before the collapse.

"I'm actually shaking right now because I did look up and see that it just looked like it was never going to fit through the window," she said. "I'm an aerialist. I rig things. And I'm happy to be alive right now."

With the Associated Press