A first-year apprentice fell to his death down an elevator shaft and another worker was injured at a new Queens school on Thursday, authorities said.
The men were servicing the elevator at PS 313 at 42nd Street and 47th Avenue in Sunnyside around 8:30 a.m., authorities said.
A third worker heard a loud bang and saw a plume of dust.
“I jumped in the shaft and started pulling up wood and when I moved a piece I saw this poor man. I said holy s—. I knew he was dead but I didn’t want to believe it so I felt for a pulse. His eyes were open. He looked bad. I think you know when someone is gone,” said the man, who declined to give his name.
The victim was pronounced dead en route to Elmhurst Hospital, police said.
“They were both wearing harnesses. His harness snapped. The other guy was hanging there. This may have been his first job. The planks came crashing down on his head. It was horrible. It was a horrible scene,” said the carpenter, T.J. Libretto.
A second worker, in his 30s, was hit by debris, cops said. He was at Elmhurst in stable condition.
The cause of the fall is under investigation.
The school opens this September.