The construction crane accident in New York this morning has claimed a second life, that of a 27-year-old construction worker. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the builders were apparently up to snuff with regulations, AP reports, but added, “What has happened is unacceptable and intolerable.” The project was slapped with two stop-work orders last month.
The crane’s operator was killed when the equipment collapsed into an Upper East Side apartment building around 8 am; a third construction worker remained seriously injured. Seven buildings were evacuated as a precaution. Said one witness, “The sound was like a thunder clap. Then, an earthquake.” (More New York stories.)