GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - OMFG! A construction crane just fell over right in front of my building.

Pleasurepays · 11-17-2006, 01:10 AM

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ebcrane16.html

A giant construction crane in downtown Bellevue tipped over tonight and smashed into an apartment building, killing at least one person.

The crane, which was several stories tall, toppled from a construction site about 7:45 p.m. It fell across 108th Avenue Northeast, a major downtown north-south thoroughfare, and sliced through an apartment building across the street, according to firefighters and witnesses.

At least three downtown buildings sustained severe structural damage: the Plaza 305 building, the Civica Office Commons and the Pinnacle BellCentre, a mixture of commercial stores on the ground level and luxury apartments above.

Also damaged was an adjacent restaurant, the Melting Pot.

Fire officials said they were "red tagging" the buildings, meaning they were not safe to be occupied. The crane was being left suspended over the street pending the arrival of investigators from the state Department of Labor and Industries.

The crane was located at the construction site of Tower 333, a 20-story office building under construction at the corner of Northeast Fourth Street and 108th Avenue Northeast.

The crane operator, who was not identified, was trapped in the control cab of the yellow crane nearly 30 feet off the ground. Firefighters used a ladder to reach him, and he walked from the scene, according to fire officials. Police said he "rode the crane down" nearly 200 feet.

"We're told he's going to be okay," said Bellevue police Officer Greg Grannis.

Bellevue Fire Chief Mario Trevino said the crane operator reported he was securing the crane for the night when he "heard a noise" and the crane toppled. Trevino said the accident is being blamed on "a catastrophic failure" of the craine.

One woman who witnessed the accident said it "sounded like two waves of thunder" as it came down, bouncing off adjacent structures on the way down..
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Firefighters were going through the buildings one floor at a time late Thursday, looking for residents.

Officials said the person killed was living in a fourth-floor apartment in the 248-unit Pinnacle BellCentre. His identity was not immediately available.

Ryan Peach, 28, a trained emergency medical technician, was working a second job as a waiter at Melting Pot when the crane came down. He said he helped the first police officers on the scene search the apartments on the fourth floor.

Peach described a scene of terrific destruction. The ceilings had come down, along with wires and pipes, and there was nearly a foot of water on the ground from a broken water main. In one apartment, the crane had sliced through the walls and was lying across a couch.

"We were screaming in there," trying to locate survivors, Peach said. "We couldn't go in. It was just too dangerous."

The Tower 333 building is being constructed on the site on which the late developer Eugene Horbach planned to building the Bellevue Technology Tower. Horbach's plans ended when he lost the property in foreclosure 18 months before his 2004 death.

The Seattle office of Hines, an international real-estate firm, and Washington Capital Management, announced plans for Tower 333 in March. The firm said the new tower would rise 20 stories and comprise approximately 400,000 square feet.

11-17-2006, 01:10 AM
Pleasurepays BANNED - SUPPORTING TUBES Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I live in a pile of boogers Posts: 11,913	http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ebcrane16.html A giant construction crane in downtown Bellevue tipped over tonight and smashed into an apartment building, killing at least one person. The crane, which was several stories tall, toppled from a construction site about 7:45 p.m. It fell across 108th Avenue Northeast, a major downtown north-south thoroughfare, and sliced through an apartment building across the street, according to firefighters and witnesses. At least three downtown buildings sustained severe structural damage: the Plaza 305 building, the Civica Office Commons and the Pinnacle BellCentre, a mixture of commercial stores on the ground level and luxury apartments above. Also damaged was an adjacent restaurant, the Melting Pot. Fire officials said they were "red tagging" the buildings, meaning they were not safe to be occupied. The crane was being left suspended over the street pending the arrival of investigators from the state Department of Labor and Industries. The crane was located at the construction site of Tower 333, a 20-story office building under construction at the corner of Northeast Fourth Street and 108th Avenue Northeast. The crane operator, who was not identified, was trapped in the control cab of the yellow crane nearly 30 feet off the ground. Firefighters used a ladder to reach him, and he walked from the scene, according to fire officials. Police said he "rode the crane down" nearly 200 feet. "We're told he's going to be okay," said Bellevue police Officer Greg Grannis. Bellevue Fire Chief Mario Trevino said the crane operator reported he was securing the crane for the night when he "heard a noise" and the crane toppled. Trevino said the accident is being blamed on "a catastrophic failure" of the craine. One woman who witnessed the accident said it "sounded like two waves of thunder" as it came down, bouncing off adjacent structures on the way down.. advertising Firefighters were going through the buildings one floor at a time late Thursday, looking for residents. Officials said the person killed was living in a fourth-floor apartment in the 248-unit Pinnacle BellCentre. His identity was not immediately available. Ryan Peach, 28, a trained emergency medical technician, was working a second job as a waiter at Melting Pot when the crane came down. He said he helped the first police officers on the scene search the apartments on the fourth floor. Peach described a scene of terrific destruction. The ceilings had come down, along with wires and pipes, and there was nearly a foot of water on the ground from a broken water main. In one apartment, the crane had sliced through the walls and was lying across a couch. "We were screaming in there," trying to locate survivors, Peach said. "We couldn't go in. It was just too dangerous." The Tower 333 building is being constructed on the site on which the late developer Eugene Horbach planned to building the Bellevue Technology Tower. Horbach's plans ended when he lost the property in foreclosure 18 months before his 2004 death. The Seattle office of Hines, an international real-estate firm, and Washington Capital Management, announced plans for Tower 333 in March. The firm said the new tower would rise 20 stories and comprise approximately 400,000 square feet.