Crane collapses in busy New York street, killing four in 'worst construction accident in recent memory'

The 19-storey crane demolished parts of several buildings as it fell while at least one small, brick apartment building was completely pulverized by the falling wreckage.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said four people were dead and at least 10 more people were injured in one of the city's worst construction accidents in recent memory.

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Rescue workers survey the damage and begin looking for survivors

Fire Department officials said an intensive rescue operation was under way to free anyone still trapped in the rubble.

The accident happened on 51st Street near 2nd Avenue at about 2:20 pm (7.30pm local time) at the construction site of a high-rise condominium.

Stephen Kaplan, an owner of Reliance Construction Group, which manages construction at the site, said roughly 19 of the 44 storeys of the crane had been erected and it was about to be extended when a piece of steel fell and sheared off one of the ties holding it to the building.

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Rescue workers begin the clean up and clear away this mini which was crushed in the crane collapse

"It was an absolute freak accident," Mr Kaplan said. "All the piece of steel had to do was fall slightly left or right, and nothing would have happened."

He said the company had subcontracted the work to different companies and was not in charge of the crane.

Mr Kaplan could not confirm if any workers at the site were among those killed.

John PlaGreco, who owns a bar called Fu Bar which is located in the building that was crushed, said he feared one of his employees was dead in the rubble.

"Our bar is done," he said. "The crane crashed the whole building.

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Four people were killed when a crane tore free from a neighbouring building and crushed everything in its path

"If I wasn't watching a Yankees game, I would've come to work early and gotten killed."

Ben Galati, a 54-year-old doorman at a high-rise apartment tower across the street, said he was in the basement when it happened, and ran for his life when he heard the structure smash into his building.

"I heard a rumble outside. I said, 'Let's get out of here! And then the crane came down. A split second later, I heard an explosion," he said.

The crane split into pieces as it fell. Part of it came to rest against an apartment tower, buckling its facade and smashing its upper floors.

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That building and others in the area were evacuated.

Maureen Shey, who lives diagonally across from the building where the crane collapsed, said she had been on the phone lying on her bed when she saw the giant white crane heading straight for her windows.

"I heard a big crash, and I saw dust immediately. Bricks were flying through the air. I saw the whole thing.

"I thought the crane was coming in my window," she said.

The crane missed her building, but others were not as lucky.

Video broadcast by television news helicopters showed firefighters clambering through piles of rubble, several storeys high, looking for victims.

Witnesses reported a strong smell of gas in the area. Some described the ground beneath the crane appearing to give way as it began to topple.

Greta Welkhammer, who was passing by on her bicycle, told local TV station NY1 that she looked up and saw the crane "literally split in half".

"I saw the crane crashing, splitting in half," she said, adding that she had also seen the building which it hit "falling like a house of cards".

"Everybody was running, running. It was devastating," she said.

A Reuters news agency photographer on the scene said the crane had completely crushed a building of several storeys and cars on the street were also under rubble, with one car flipped over on its side.

The photographer saw two casualties on trolleys on the street near the building, which was surrounded by dozens of emergency service vehicles.

Gas provider Consolidated Edison said it had shut off services to buildings in the area.

The building was a small residential structure between two other taller buildings on 50th Street in mid-town Manhattan, between 1st and 2nd Avenues. The crane appeared to have fallen from a construction site to the north.

Nearby residents said they had complained to the city authorities several times about the construction work at the site, saying crews worked illegal hours and the building was going up too fast.

City Building Department records showed that on March 4 a caller told officials that the upper portions of the crane appeared to lack the proper number of safety ties attaching it to the building.

But a city inspector who visited the site determined on March 6 that no rule had been broken.

Another call questioning the crane's safety was dismissed as unfounded by another inspector in February.