Cause of deadly New York crane collapse under investigation

A deadly crane collapse in Lower Manhattan could have caused more casualties, but its operator managed to steer the massive boom away from nearby buildings, according to a report Saturday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City is implementing a four-point plan to increase safety when large construction cranes are operating.

Wall Street worker David Wichs was killed in the collapse.

Three other people, including O’Brien, were injured, but are expected to live, officials said.

Effective Monday, all crawler cranes will be required to halt operations and go into safety mode whenever winds are even forecast to exceed 20 miles per hour or with gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour – even if that requires securing a crane the day before the winds are forecast to begin.

On Friday morning, an nearly 600 ft tall crane crashed down onto buildings, pedestrians and parked cars in downtown Manhattan.

The Yeshiva, which was among the recipients of Wichs’s gifts, had welcomed him as a 14-year-old who barely spoke English. “I could see the boom of the crane connected to the cabin from where I was stopped, so my initial thought was that something hit the building or that snow had caused the roof or an awning of some sort to collapse”.

Mayor also said that the construction crew was directing public out from the street as the crane was being lowered.

Officials said it was unclear whether high winds played a role in the accident during Friday’s morning rush, when the moderate snowstorm was moving across the city. She said she felt “a boom” that shook her office. Relatives have said he was born in Prague, moved to the U.S. as a teenager and graduated from Harvard.

The city also will convene a group of experts to review the accident and come up with more recommendations, de Blasio said. He was a mathematical whiz who worked at a computerized-trading firm, his family said. It was unclear why the crane fell.

Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler said inspectors found no problems then with the crane but would investigate further.

The FDNY says one person is dead and two others are seriously injured following a crane collapse in Lower Manhattan. Officials said it could take days before the crane is removed from Worth Street and streets in the area will remain shut down until that happens.

A spokesman for the building’s owners said in a statement that they were “saddened by the injuries and loss of a life”.

Bay Crane, of Long Island City, which owns the collapsed crane, and Galasso Trucking and Rigging Inc., of Maspeth, which operated it, did not respond to several requests Sunday for comment on the new regulations and the incident itself.

City officials say it could take weeks to determine why the crane collapsed while it was being lowered during strong winds.