CENTRAL HARLEM — A worker was hurt when he fell from a ladder while installing copper pipes at a construction site Monday, officials and witnesses said.
The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was on a ladder in the basement of 145 W. 118th St., near Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, about 7:45 a.m. when he lost his balance and slipped off, according to fellow workers and an FDNY spokeswoman.
He fell about one story, witnesses said.
"He had blood coming out of his mouth and I asked him, 'Are you OK?' and he said, 'Esta bien,'" which roughly translates to "it's OK," said another construction worker, Eldred Valero, 30.
The worker was taken to Harlem Hospital, FDNY officials said. His condition was not immediately clear.
The construction site had been issued a partial stop worker order on Oct. 22 for a crane that had been set up contrary to approved plans, according to the Department of Buildings' website.
It was not immediately clear if the work being done Monday violated the partial stop work order, a DOB spokesman said. The agency had not been called to investigate Monday's fall, he added.
The companies Lakhi General Contractor Nautica Plumbing and Heating Corp., which were working at the site, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Joel Gold Construction, which operated a crane there, declined to comment.
