U.S. & World News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A dramatic home video shows the vast devastation left after a construction crane in New York fell 15 stories, destroying everything in its path Friday morning.

The footage was taken just moments after the crane seemed to snap like a toothpick.

As smoke billowed from the street, residents ran for their lives.

On Friday night, workers dismantled what was left of the crane.

The collapse happened just after 8 a.m. local time. The crane suddenly snapped in two and fell fast. It smashed into an apartment building, obliterating a penthouse and shearing off whole balconies before landing in a pile of twisted metal on the ground.

Those in nearby buildings were shaken.

"I looked outside, stepped out onto my balcony and saw the crane and dust and heard people screaming," evacuated resident Peter Barba said.

The accident claimed the lives of two construction workers, crane operator Donald Leo, 30, and Ramadan Kurtaj, 27. A third worker was critically injured.

The construction site where the incident happened has had a troubled history, and many residents said the accident was not unexpected.

"I told my wife, not a matter of if but when," building resident John Jorgensen said.

The neighborhood was thrown into chaos, with seven nearby buildings evacuated, officials said, as a precaution.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised a full investigation, but said it appeared regulations had been followed. Even so, with the recent spike in serious construction accidents in the city, his frustration showed.

"This is unacceptable and outrageous," the mayor said.

On Friday night, residents returned to their apartments, many with a sense that it may be difficult now to ever truly feel safe at home.

"I feel a little violated," resident Erin D'Angelo said. "I feel my comfort level has been violated, and I feel horrible, really, for the workers. It's just a sad day."

The pieces of the collapsed Kodiak crane were carted off Friday night, far below the spot where inspectors zeroed in on the probable cause - a weld that didn't hold in a previously cracked metal ring just below the crane turntable that suddenly separated from the tower with such disastrous effect.

It is all too strange to Frank Ramos, who took pictures Monday of what appeared to be inspectors at the construction site peering up at the crane, clearly concerned.

"I overheard them and they said it wasn't safe," Ramos said. "They were all together in a group talking in a group and they said maybe we'll have to take this off, take this down."

The tower crane had previously been installed at another location in the Manhattan borough of New York, according to CBS station WCBS-TV in New York. It was there that workers discovered the critical crack that they decided to repair with a weld.

What's unclear is if the operation of the crane led to excessive stress on that weld once the crane was reassembled on the Upper East Side for construction of the 32-story luxury condo tower, where Friday's incident occured.

Adding to the severity of Friday's deadly accident is the fact that the construction site has a list of previous complaints and problems:

* Last month for "operating a crane in an unsafe manner."

* Three weeks ago for unspecified "hazardous conditions."

* There were citizen complaints the week after that and last week for falling debris and operating the crane over traffic.

But city inspectors on scene gave the go-ahead and only Thursday the most recent partial stop-work order was lifted.

Industry observers say speed has become paramount in city construction projects at the inevitable expense of safety.

"What's happening in the construction industry, it has grown so fast and furious that there is a shortage of qualified crane operators. People get a license to run a crane in 40 hours or less with no experience," crane expert Tom Barth said.

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