A construction worker was killed and three of his colleagues were injured last night when a crane collapsed at the No. 7 train subway-extension construction site on the West Side, authorities said.
The accident occurred at around 7:20 p.m. at West 34th Street and 11th Avenue when two pieces of the crane — 80- and 40-foot sections — became dislodged and fell into the below-ground site and onto the workers, officials said.
“It sounded like a bomb went off,” one worker said. “When I turned, I didn’t see the crane, the one that’s always here. So we knew what it was right away. We saw a plume of smoke.”
The hard hats had to be pulled from the wreckage.
The 30-year-old worker who died was struck directly by the falling crane, officials said.
Three others were hurt by debris, one seriously injured with a broken leg.
A relative of one of the injured was treated for trauma after rushing to the scene.
“The people who were injured were 60 feet down in the pit,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Bill Seelig. “So it wasn’t an easy removal. It was a complicated job because it wasn’t at ground level.”
Authorities believe a cable snapped, causing the collapse, but they were still trying to confirm that late last night.
The fatally injured man, whose name was withheld, was unconscious when taken from the site.
Responders were performing CPR as he was being put into the ambulance. He died at Bellevue Hospital.
The worker with the broken leg is 48 years old. He, too, was taken to Bellevue. The other victims, a crane operator and a flag man, suffered minor injuries.
Colleagues were stunned, with one crying, “Oh, my God!”
The MTA released a statement saying, “We pray for the recovery of the workers injured. We will work with all proper authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.’’
Authorities were not immediately sure who owned the crane.
Police said there was no immediate indication of criminality.
Some surrounding streets were closed while the rescue was being conducted.
Meanwhile, MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said yesterday the No. 7 train will not expand to New Jersey “in anybody’s lifetime.”
Mayor Bloomberg had floated the idea in 2010.
Additional reporting by Wilson Dizard and Jennifer Fermino
Rescuers pull a victim from the pit. (Byron Smith)
Rescuers pull a victim from the pit. (Byron Smith)