Afternoon Bulletin: Manhattan Crane Collapse, Officers Shot in the Bronx and More

The massive structure had fallen across an entire block in Tribeca Lower Manhattan – crushing several cars underneath it, the NY post reported. For precautions in case the two buildings collapse, the streets are now blocked off until further notice.

The boom of the crane was 500ft (152m metres), authorities said.

The crane was being secured and lowered after strong gusts of wind were recorded nearby.

Trevor Loftus, 40, was checking out his boom truck’s leaky hydraulic system just as a hose burst, causing the crane’s arm to collapse and pin him against the vehicle’s flatbed.

A person answering the phone at the office of Bay Crane in the borough of Queens would not discuss the accident or confirm that the crane belonged to the company. The Department of Buildings disputed some of the audit’s conclusions, but spokesman Joe Soldevere said the agency had implemented numerous comptroller’s recommendations and “there is more oversight of cranes in place than ever before”. Upon moving the construction crane, it collapsed.

“Thank God it was not worse”, de Blasio said.

The crane had been used since January 30 at 60 Hudson Street, a New York City landmark once known as the Western Union building.

“Thankfully there was only one person inside one of the cars”.

On Thursday, city building inspectors approved a permit to extend the crane to its maximum length, de Blasio said.

City officials said the crane had been inspected only a day or so earlier and there were no apparent violations of any building code requirements at the site, according to CNN and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).

The courthouse at 71 Thomas Street, around the corner from the site of the collapse, was evacuated because of gas odours, a Manhattan Supreme Court official said.

All 376 mobile cranes registered with the city, as well as all 43 of the larger tower cranes, were ordered into secure positions.

The collapse left one person dead and three injured. The injured were hit by falling debris.

Stringer said the initial audit in 2014 found only eight of 65 safety recommendations had been implemented fully.

Witnesses described a deafening boom as the crane crashed to the street a few blocks from City Hall and a half-mile from the World Trade Center site.

Nicholi White, 20, who works for grocery delivery service Fresh Direct, said he was waiting to deliver boxes on the street when he saw the crane fall.

A representative for the New York City Department of Buildings could not be reached immediately for comment. Three other injuries occurred, two of them serious enough to send a 45-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man to area hospitals.