MANHATTAN — Ten people were injured Sunday morning when a crane lugging a commercial air conditioner to a the roof of a midtown building suddenly dropped the load, sending it plummeting to the street below, officials said.
The air conditioner scraped the side of the building as it fell, raining debris down onto the street, officials said.
The crane was hauling the 23,000 pound air conditioner to the roof at 261 Madison Avenue near 39th Street, at roughly 10:30 a.m. when the air conditioner fell, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident and it remains under investigation, city officials said.
Seven people were taken to area hospitals in stable condition and three people were treated at the scene, fire officials said.
Among the injured were five civilians, two police officers, two construction workers and a firefighter, according to city officials.
A complaint about the incident issued by the Department of Buildings did not provide additional details.
Following the accident the NYPD shut down Madison Avenue to cars between East 34th Street to East 39th Street and to pedestrians between East 38th Street and East 39th Street.
All streets were expected to reopen on Tuesday, city officials said.
The crane involved in the incident is owned and operated by Skylift Construction Corp. according to Department of Building records. The city issued approved a permit for the 375 foot crane in early May, records show.
The company was involved in crane scandal in 2010 when one of their crane operators failed to secure the massive piece of machinery after his shift and it toppled over into a nearby building. No one was injured in that incident.
The Department of Buildings said it will continue to investigate the Sunday incident and that parts of five floors at 261 Madison Avenue have been ordered to vacate until further notice, according to a spokesman and DOB records.
Skylift Construction Corp. declined to comment on the incident.
