A construction worker died in a construction accident in the Garment District in Manhattan Tuesday, the FDNY said.
Fire officials said the department responded to a building under construction on West 37th Street, between 8th and 9th avenues, after getting a call about the accident around 1:30 p.m.
Cellphone video taken by a worker above the accident scene shows a large concrete slab on the ground as firefighters struggle to extricate the worker trapped underneath it.
Witnesses reported hearing a noise so loud when the concrete slab collapsed that they rushed to see what had happened.
Witness John Frondelli said the slab was on the ground, apparently having fallen from a corner where excavation was happening.
"You could see an arm and a hand sticking out from under there. Kind of a brutal sight," he said.
"From the legs down, it wasn't showing. But when the concrete fell, you could see from this part up," said Luis Lopez, motioning from his torso upward.
An office building next door was evacuated as a precaution.
Local
People who work or live in the area say construction work on new hotels and residence buildings is constant and worrisome.
"It's nonstop buildiing, big real estate is coming in and taking every little square inch and building as high as they can go. That's all we hear in this neighborhood, constant construction," said John Bonafede.
The worker has not been identified.
