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Backhoe Sinks Into Hole on TriBeCa Street After Water Main Break

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | April 8, 2014 8:06am | Updated on April 8, 2014 9:47am

 A water main broke at a construction site at Hudson and Leonard streets, the FDNY said.
Burst Pipe Traps Backhoe
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TRIBECA — A yellow backhoe tipped into a large hole on Hudson Street when a 12 inch water main broke beneath it Monday night, officials said.

A Caterpillar M315D, which can weigh more than 40,000 pounds, tumbled into a hole about 10:15 p.m. at the construction site near Leonard Street where workers had been replacing and repairing pipes, but had left long before the main from 1982 ruptured, officials and workers said.

Crews managed to free the equipment from the hole and it was seen operating at the scene Tuesday morning.

Crews repaired the water main overnight and the Department of Environmental Protection was still investigating how it broke, a spokeswoman said.

The DEP spokeswoman did not know how much water had spilled out before the pipe was mended.

Water was briefly cut off in the immediate vicinity, but was fully restored by 7 a.m., the DEP spokeswoman said.

No injuries were reported in the incident, an FDNY spokesman said.