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Construction Worker Impaled in Fall at 4 World Trade Center

By  Julie  Shapiro and Maya Shwayder | June 26, 2012 2:58pm 

A worker fell at 4 World Trade Center June 26, 2012.
A worker fell at 4 World Trade Center June 26, 2012.
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DNAinfo/Maya Shwayder

LOWER MANHATTAN — A construction worker at 4 World Trade Center fell and impaled himself on a metal rod Tuesday afternoon, fire officials and the construction company said.

The 37-year-old worker was helping to build the new skyscraper at 150 Greenwich St. when he slipped and fell 4 to 5 feet about 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, an FDNY spokeswoman said.

The worker landed on a small steel rod he was carrying in a pouch, said a spokesman for Tishman Construction, the contractor on the site.

The man suffered a puncture wound to his side and was transported to Bellevue Hospital Center in critical but not life-threatening condition, the FDNY spokeswoman said.

"He appears to be stable, but we have no further details on his condition at this time," the Tishman spokesman said.

A police officer on the scene said the accident happened "up top" in the 72-story tower.

The accident comes one day after developer Larry Silverstein and local politicians held an emotional ceremony to mark the topping-out of the 977-foot skyscraper.

A spokesman for Silverstein Properties referred questions to Tishman.

Other recent accidents at 4 World Trade Center include a February incident in which a load of steel beams fell 40 stories from the building. Just a few months earlier, a teenager suffered a minor injury when a 4-foot rod fell from the building.