Workers, witnesses describe heart-pounding moments when NYC crane arm caught fire, collapsed
NEW YORK - There were heart-pounding moments as the top of a crane came crashing down in Hell's Kitchen on Wednesday.
The hulking piece of metal crashed into the 55th floor of another high-rise, where Yash Madhura was sound asleep.
"I woke up in a state of fear, so I look at my roommate. He had a few pieces of glass on his head," Hell's Kitchen Yash Madhura said.
Watch live team coverage from the scene
- Link: Nearly a dozen hurt when crane arm catches fire, collapses onto NYC street during morning commute
Madhura says his apartment, which he just moved into two months ago, was still wobbling as he shot video from his cracked window. If not for a thick wall, he believes the collapsing structure would have swung into his room.
"We literally saw fire and we see debris all over, glass, our wall, everything is scattered. The structure of our building, the 55th floor is all shaken up," Madhura said.
When the crane toppled, it also took out a chunk of the high-rise apartment complex across the street. The deafening boom jolted families awake.
"There was a humongous sound as well, so I left my shade, and I see this flame coming out, and a humongous black smoke," said Irakil Klarje, who lives in the building that was struck.
Just as panicked were the dozens of construction workers trying to flee to safety. They knew the intensity of the fire meant imminent danger.
"As I'm hanging up the phone, I hear boom, boom, boom. I'm like, yo, get out of the building right now," worker Anthony Devivo said. "That whole bucket full of cement just came down and just crashed. It was crazy."
"I get an alert that the crane was on fire. So I bring one of the guys upstairs with two fire extinguishers," worker Frankie Gioia said.
Broken pieces of metal lay strewn across 10h Avenue after plummeting down from the 45th floor.
Workers say the crane was in the process of hauling up 16 tons of concrete when there was a sudden mechanical failure.
"Just crashing noises. I thought the building was collapsing. It sounded like the floors were collapsing level by level," Devivo said.
"It's like an engine. Oil started leaking, and then it went up, and from that point it was just a matter of time before it exploded, which it did," worker Richard Paz said. "When the crane hit the building, you felt it shake. A lot of the guys panicked, they start coming down the stairs a little too fast."
"I look up in the air, and I see the hopper right over there coming straight down. I start running for my life, it was chaos," worker Gioia said.
Watch Naveen Dhaliwal's report
Amid the chaos, everyday heroes emerged. Witnesses said moments before the collapse, several construction workers got into the street to alert cars and pedestrians, saving lives.
"Them stopping traffic, noticing the issue, because once the computer shut down it stops everything, so the bucket was in limbo hanging," Paz said.
Dozens of out-of-towners were left with nowhere to stay after being evacuated from the nearby Yotel hotel. Hours after the collapse, they were told they had to check out and find another place to stay.
"I am calling someone to try to get us another place," said Marlene Jones, visiting from Delaware.
"I'm going to find a new hotel," Boston resident Gabby Francheschelli said.
"Totally asleep, sound asleep," said Rosa Ledesma Berez, who is visiting from Argentina.
Berez says she grabbed her passport and important belongings before fleeing -- with her shirt on inside out.
"Yeah, it's upside down because I just rushed out. We all did," she said.
Watch Christina Fan's report
With 10th Avenue blocked off, dozens lined up Wednesday evening to get back home or to their hotel.
"It's not a safe zone right now," an official said.
The NYPD is providing crowd control.
"We have escorting officers that are going to bring people in," NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy said.
Madhura, who has a vacate order, says it's a minor inconvenience he can live with.
"I'm happy to be alive. So lucky there was a pillar, which actually did not let the beam come inside, but it damaged the pillar from my building," he said.
Tenth Avenue remained closed Wednesday night and is expected to be closed most of Thursday.
The DOB will determine when it is safe for Yotel and other evacuated buildings to reopen.
