[Hurricane Sandy] Crane Dangling Off Tallest Residential Skyscraper In Manhattan, Evacuations Underway In Midtown
A crane is dangling precariously off a building in Manhattan due to Hurricane Sandy’s pre-storm winds, and users on Twitter have been tweeting images and accounts of the unfolding dangerous situation.
Hurricane Sandy unseated the crane over on West 57th Street in Manhattan, and the Wall Street Journal reports that construction on the site had already been halted ahead of Sandy’s landfall in the area:
“Television images show part of the crane hanging off the luxury building on West 57th Street. No injuries are reported. However, streets have been cleared as a precaution … The call came in around 2:30 p.m. Monday. At the time, according to the National Weather Service, winds in Manhattan were blowing at about 20 mph with gusts up to about 40 mph.”
While the area has been cleared, many curiosity seekers have been snapping pictures of the dangling crane in Manhattan, transfixed by the unusual image of chaos as the city braces for Sandy’s impact.
As the dangling crane in Manhattan story breaks, Piers Morgan and singer Billy Ray Cyrus both tweeted about the unfolding situation in Midtown, saying:
That broken crane is dangling from the tallest residential building in NY, right outside CNN in NY. Alarming. #Sandy twitter.com/piersmorgan/st…
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 29, 2012
Massive bang and this giant skyscraper crane outside my office just buckled… Scary. #Sandy #NY #CNN twitter.com/piersmorgan/st… — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 29, 2012
Oh my. This girl is serious. #sandy #nyc. I see a broken crane on top of a building. Looks like the wind is pickin up big time. — Billy Ray Cyrus (@billyraycyrus) October 29, 2012
Non-celebs have been tweeting about the felled crane in Manhattan as well, saying:
That moment when you get home and just can’t remember whether you secured the giant crane on top of a skyscraper before you left work.
— Chip Duckett (@ChipDuckett) October 29, 2012
Jeez! All hell is breaking loose in NYC. 7 blocks from where I live a crane has collapsed close to falling 1000 feet! twitter.com/JackRicofficia…
— Jack Rico (@JackRicofficial) October 29, 2012
NBC tweeted:
#BREAKING: Construction crane collapses on 57th Street near 6th Ave. Evacuations near. Photo credit: Justin Mohatt. twitter.com/NBCNewYork/sta…
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) October 29, 2012
No injuries have been linked to the Hurricane Sandy crane collapse. Officials say it is not currently possible to reach the crane dangling above Midtown Manhattan.
