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Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
FDNY firefighters and trucks work on the scene of a burning construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News
A damaged building from the crane collapse is pictured Wednesday morning in Manhattan.
Emergency responders are on the scene after a large construction crane caught fire on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Manhattan.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
A burning construction crane is seen atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
Firefighters try to put out a fire from a construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
FDNY firefighters and trucks work on the scene of a burning construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
Firefighters inspect a construction crane that caught fire and collapsed in Manhattan on July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News
FDNY members remove an injured worker from the scene of a crane accident near Manhattan's Hudson Yards Wednesday morning.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
A burning construction crane is seen atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
FDNY remove an injured worker from the scene of a burning construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
A burning construction crane is seen atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News
Debris is pictured in the street after a crane collapse in Manhattan Wednesday morning.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
FDNY firefighters and trucks work on the scene of a burning construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
A burning construction crane is seen atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023, with only four minor injuries reported as terrified pedestrians scrambled for their lives. The crane caught fire on top of 550 10th Ave. near 41st St. at 7:25 a.m. before tumbling down in mere seconds with a 16-ton load of concrete. The crane bashed into a building across the street as it fell, with a plume of thick black smoke visible above the city skyline for miles.
KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
Firefighters battle a fire on a construction crane in Manhattan on July 26, 2023. The New York City Fire Department reported two firefighters and at least four civilians suffered minor injuries in the accident.
Emergency responders are on the scene after a large construction crane caught fire on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Manhattan.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
FDNY firefighters and trucks work on the scene of a burning construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribiero/for New York Daily News
A burning construction crane is seen atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below Wednesday morning.
KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
Rescue baskets are prepared by first responders at the site of a construction crane fire and collapse in Manhattan on July 26, 2023.
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News
FDNY firefighters and trucks work the scene of a crane collapse in Manhattan on Wednesday.
First responders spray water on a tall construction crane that caught fire on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Manhattan. The crane caught fire and its arm hit a building as it crashed onto the street
Emergency responders battle flames as a large construction crane caught fire on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Manhattan.
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News
A burning construction crane is seen atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below Wednesday morning. (Photo by Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
Mayor Adams briefs the media on the burning construction crane atop a high rise near Manhattan's Hudson Yards after part of its load collapsed and plunged 45 stories to the street below on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023.
An overhead view of the collapse crane is pictured on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
A machine deck fire sent a 180-foot construction crane boom plunging 45 stories to the Midtown Manhattan streets, with terrified pedestrians running for their lives to the terrifying sound of the tumbling equipment on Wednesday morning.
The flames caused severe damage to the 180-foot-long boom once the fire ignited high above 550 10th Ave. near 41st St. at 7:25 a.m., and the arm collapsed with a 16-ton load of concrete headed to the 36th floor and several loud bangs while plowing into a high-rise building across the street.
A plume of thick black smoke, visible above the New York skyline for miles, rose as the sleepy neighborhood was rattled by the breakfast-time chaos, with pieces of debris continuing to fall hours later at the site.
“I thought my building was going down, honestly,” said Julie Adams, 34, whose apartment on the 24th floor of neighboring 555 10th Ave. shook violently when struck by the falling construction equipment.
A source told the Daily News the preliminary cause of the construction fire and crane collapse was a hydraulic fluid leak from the engine compartment onto a heated metal plate, sparking the accidental blaze on the deck atop the building.
Officials said nine civilians and three firefighters were injured in the aftermath of the collapse. The fire was declared under control at 11:44 a.m., according to the FDNY.
“Thank God the injuries were minor,” Mayor Adams said at the scene. “This could have been much worse. We were extremely fortunate.”
A construction worker who witnessed the fire break out from the 44th floor of 550 10th Ave. said a co-worker frantically tried to put out the blaze, to no avail.
“I was on the deck when it started smoking,” Marco Araujo told the Daily News. “He tried to put it out. But he had a little fire extinguisher and it didn’t work.
“It didn’t work because the flames were so fast,” added Araujo, a 44-year-old carpenter who was laying concrete at the time. “It was crazy.”
As he and other workers tried to escape, they found the elevator wasn’t working. So they resorted to a ladder that led to lower floors.
It was around the 20th floor that Araujo saw the boom collapse, he said.
“I never thought the boom would come down,” he marveled. “But then it did. In 12 years, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Michael Lyles, a maintenance worker at a nearby skyscraper, credited construction workers with saving lives by scrambling to shut down the streets and steer pedestrians away from the potentially lethal situation.
“The construction crew was very on point,” he said. “When they saw there was a fire, they started blocking off the street and pushing people back. That’s when the crane fell.”
Neighborhood resident Perry DellAquila, 56, said he was checking e-mails on his computer before the sound of the collapsing crane rumbled through the local streets.
“I heard the crash and I was like, ‘Wow, that doesn’t sound right,'” he recounted. “And when I just looked out the window, I saw the last piece of debris hitting the (street). It hit the side of the building and then hit the middle of the street.”
His building at 561 10th Ave. was evacuated, with FDNY responders advising him to stay outside.
The five-alarm blaze brought 50 FDNY units with 220 firefighters to the chaotic scene, with fire officials deploying drones to ensure the fire was extinguished.
City Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said an investigation into the accident was already underway. Monadnock Construction, the acting general contractor for the site, issued an afternoon statement on the accident.
“Safety is a priority for Monadnock Construction Inc. at this and every project,” the company said. “We are fully cooperating with all regulatory agencies and are available for any assistance that is needed. We are unable to provide any additional details regarding the incident at this time.”
Brooklyn-based Valjato Engineering CEO Steve Valjato, whose company was the crane engineer, declined comment to the Daily News. The on-site concrete safety manager was identified as Cross Country Construction.
The crane’s owner, identified as NY Crane & Equipment Corp., was headed by James Lomma until his death in 2019. A crane owned by Lomma collapsed on the Upper East Side in May 2008, killing two workers. Though the businessman was acquitted of manslaughter in 2012, the families of the dead workers received $35 million from the company.
When reached Wednesday, a staffer at Lomma could not immediately comment on the latest collapse.
Local woman Gwyneth Leech, a painter who specializes in construction sites, recalled how quickly things escalated.
“First we heard a huge clattering noise at 7:30 a.m.,” she recalled. “Then we came down and saw the crane was on fire.”
After the fire began, the arm of the crane broke loose and fell in an arc onto cars along 10th Ave.
Stunning video showed the crane arm slamming into a nearby building before swinging back into the high-rise where the accident occurred and falling straight down. Most of the crane boom landed within the construction zone of 550 10th Ave., officials said.
Firefighters evacuated neighboring buildings, including at least one hotel, and closed streets to cars and pedestrian traffic as they battled the blaze.
Videos posted on social media showed the mangled arm on the sidewalk and thick black plumes of smoke pouring from the top of the crane as firefighters rained water onto the flames from adjoining buildings.
The luxury rental tower the crane was atop was still under construction and expected to be completed next year, according to the developer’s website.
The project at 550 10th Ave. was supposed to be finished in about two weeks, according to the still-shaken Araujo.
“We were going to have a party,” he said. “Now who knows what’s going to happen.”
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