Crane Collapse in Manhattan Kills at Least 4 - By ROBERT D. McFADDEN, New York Times
The cause of the accident on a sunny, windless day was unclear and under investigation by city, state and federal agencies. But Stephen Kaplan, an owner of the Reliance Construction Group working at the site, told The Associated Press that a piece of steel had fallen and sheared off one of the girders holding the crane to the building.
A construction worker on the 15th floor, Ismael Garcia, said he saw something fall and strike one or more of the girder ties, weakening or breaking the connections. “Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a piece falling,” he said, and then the crane pulled away.
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Crane collapses on NYC apartment buildings; 4 dead, 3 missing - By KAREN MATTHEWS/AP via Staten Island Advance