Crane Collapses in NYC - Kills 4 Construction Workers

March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Four construction workers died when a multi-story crane collapsed on Manhattan's East Side this afternoon, demolishing one building and damaging three others, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

At least 10 people were injured, the mayor said, and police and firefighters were searching for eight missing people.

The 43-story apartment building under construction at 303 East 51st St. had been about half built. The crane was scheduled to be extended today for work on the upper stories, Bloomberg said at a press conference from the site.

``We are still looking for other victims potentially trapped in the rubble,'' Bloomberg said.

He said several people were critically injured, and that nearby buildings had been evacuated.

``This is going to be a painstaking hand operation as we try to remove the rubble and make sure we don't cause further collapse or injure anyone,'' Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said during the press conference.

A shelter run by the American Red Cross has been set up at the High School for Arts and Design near Second Avenue for residents forced to evacuate their buildings, Bloomberg said.

``It looked like a bombed-out area,'' said Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough president, in a telephone interview from the scene.

Rescue Operation

Scoppetta said rescue workers were able to get a man out of the four-story townhouse that was destroyed, and had received reports a woman had been in the building. He said they had not managed to make contact with her yet.

``The focus is a rescue operation, it will continue all night if necessary,'' Scoppetta said.

The crane is owned by New York Crane and manufactured by Favelle Favco Bhd., said Robert LiMandri, first deputy commissioner at the New York Department of Buildings, at the press conference. James Cannelli is the developer of the site.

The New York Department of Buildings Web site indicates the construction site has had 13 violations since January 2006, a ``normal'' number for such a site, LiMandri said. The site had received a stop work order today on an issue unrelated to the crane.

``It is police all over, and fire departments and ambulances,'' said Youssef Semlali, an employee at the Zarela Restaurant on Second Avenue, which is across the street from the incident. He said the building completely destroyed by the crane's collapse contained a bar named Fubar.

Fubar owner John PlaGreco told the Associated Press that he worried that one of his employees was dead in the accident. ``The crane crashed the whole building,'' he told the wire service.

Source : http://www.bloomberg.com