A construction worker is dead and another is in critical condition after they fell three stories from the roof of a residential building that collapsed in Brooklyn Monday morning, emergency personnel said.
Five workers were on top of the building at 227 Carlton Ave. in Fort Greene, when I-beams gave way and the structure collapsed around 9:30 a.m., authorities said.
"They were just lifting blocks up to the top floor up there," said neighbor Ernest Simmons. "Then I went inside... and I heard a big crunch."
Two workers fell about 30 feet in the collapse. One man, who was 67, was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. The other was in serious condition with non life-threatening injuries at Kings County Hospital, officials said.
Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri called it a "sad day on this construction site." He said it took emergency crews 20 minutes to extricate the workers who fell from the roof into the basement.
Of the other three workers on the roof at the time, two were able to get to another rooftop. The third was hanging onto the side of the structure and managed to pull himself up.
Forensic engineers will be at the site throughout the day looking at debris and checking the weight and frequency of deliveries of materials to the top of the building, LiMandri said. Investigators will also look into who authorized those deliveries.
According to the Buildings Department website, no violations were issued and permits had been handed out for construction at the four-story, two-family building, officials said.
