This is just awful:
NEW YORK — A giant crane toppled over at a construction site and smashed into a block of residential buildings Saturday, killing at least two people and creating a horrifying scene of destruction on Manhattan’s East Side.
The big, white crane, which looked to be at least 15 stories tall, demolished parts of several buildings as it fell. At least one small, brick apartment building appeared to have been completely pulverized by the falling wreckage.
Fire Department officials said at least two people were dead. A rescue operation was under way and it was unclear whether there were people trapped in the rubble.
The accident happened on 51st Street near 2nd Avenue at about 2:20 p.m. People in the area reported hearing a terrible roar as the structure detached from a large building under construction.
Oh, god. That’s not too far from where I work.
Who needs government oversight? Let the market decide. Oh, lots of the rigs are run by scabs or immigrant labor, who may not have any idea of what is safe. Even in the hinterlands of Pennsyltucky, I’ve watched cranes be set up by folks for whom English is not their first language. Tends to defeat the warnings on the side of the structure, eh?