FDNY: 1 Dead In Partial Building Collapse In Midtown
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A construction worker was killed in a partial building collapse in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, officials said.
Two workers at the West 37th Street site, where a 22-story hotel will rise between Eighth and Ninth avenues, were digging up against the foundation of the office building next door around 1:30 p.m.
Then, "a slab of approximately 4-by-8 feet collapsed off of the foundation of the adjacent building," trapping one of the workers underneath, city Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler said.
FDNY: 1 Dead In Partial Building Collapse In Midtown
The section of concrete weighed about 8,000 pounds, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman, reported.
"You could see there was somebody under there," one witness who was looking down from a window above told Silverman. "All we saw sticking out was hands and arms."
"You could see the arm and the hand sticking out from under there, so kind of a brutal sight," John Frandelli told 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon.
FDNY: 1 Dead In Partial Building Collapse In Midtown
No other injuries were reported.
Buildings Department officials were checking surrounding buildings for structural damage Tuesday. An office building at 320 W. 37th St. was evacuated as a precaution.
Investigators were also looking into whether the slab was properly connected to the rest of the building.
"It's possible that the piece of slab that fell was not appropriately connected to the piece of concrete that was above it," Chandler said.
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