Watch Burning Construction Crane Collapse, Plummet 54 Floors onto NYC Street Below
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Disaster was narrowly averted on Wednesday after a huge construction crane collapsed in Midtown Manhattan.
New York City firefighters had already responded to the blaze on the crane atop 550 10th Avenue in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood on Wednesday morning, when the crane’s great arm gave way.
The cause of the fire was unclear, but the crane operator told FDNY he attempted to extinguish it before it got out of control, but failed. It quickly grew into a five-alarm fire and more than 200 first responders were at the scene.
"So we give a lot of credit to the crane operator, but the fire overwhelmed that operator and [they] had to exit the crane," FDNY First Deputy Fire Commissioner Joseph Pfeifer told reporters.
Then, suddenly, around 9:30 am, the crane’s structure began to give way.
Just watched a crane fall and pummel a building on the other side of the block! #nyc #fire pic.twitter.com/YFyaurRglN
— Jimmy 💃🏻 (@jimmy_farring) July 26, 2023
Video captured by eyewitnesses and posted on social media showed the crane’s arm fall, striking a building across the street before swinging back against the building holding the crane. Seconds later, 16 tons of concrete and steel came plummeting down onto a Manhattan street below.
Nine Injured After Partial Crane Collapse, Five-Alarm Fire in Hell's Kitchen pic.twitter.com/1FWHY3FCkZ
— Citizen NYC (@CitizenAppNYC) July 26, 2023
#BREAKING UPDATE:
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) July 26, 2023
- 4 Alarm fire declared -
Nearby buildings being evacuated for fear of further collapse after a crane caught fire and partially collapsed in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan.
New video from the moment the crane collapsed. https://t.co/4y47ALJGj3 pic.twitter.com/S3udlZ3qBx
According to city officials, the incident only injured six people, two of whom were firefighters responding to the scene.
"Thank God that the injuries… were minor," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. "As you can see from the debris on the street, this could have been much worse."
Adams said the remnants of the crane will be taken down once the fire is extinguished.
