Crane collapses at National Cathedral in D.C.
WASHINGTON
(AP)
–
A 500-ton crane doing repair work collapsed Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral amid thunderstorms and driving rain, damaging at least one nearby building and several vehicles but sparing the church.
The collapse came just four days before a scheduled speech by President Obama
inside the cathedral to observe the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. The speech is the planned highlight of a three-day
series of events scheduled to start Friday at the cathedral.
No
decision had been made as of Wednesday afternoon about whether the
commemoration, which also includes a memorial concert and interfaith
vigil, would go on as planned, said Richard Weinberg, a spokesman for
the cathedral.
The crane was working to repair damage to the cathedral caused by the Aug. 23 East Coast
earthquake when it flipped backward around 11 a.m. Wednesday and tipped
over into the parking lot. The crane damaged at least three cars and
cathedral buildings. Fire officials said a crane operator was taken to a
hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Weinberg
said the crane mishap damaged Herb Cottage, which houses the
cathedral's gift shop. The crane also fell near Church House, which
houses members of the diocese, and poses a risk to the building. All 20
people inside the buildings when the crane collapsed were not hurt,
Weinberg said.
The crane, which Weinberg said
was around 350 feet, was brought to the cathedral to fix earthquake
damage. The quake damaged the cathedral's limestone exterior towers and
some interior areas. The cathedral has been closed to visitors.
"If
it had gone any other direction it would have hit another building,
which would have been bad," fire Battalion Chief John Donnelly said.
Engineers
were investigating what caused the crane to tip over, and
representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
were on the scene. Fire officials cautioned that removing the crane from
the cathedral grounds would be a cumbersome task.
The
cathedral is one of the nation's most recognizable places of worship,
holding state funerals for several U.S. presidents and a memorial
service for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, among many other
events.
Sheryl Wilcox, an event manager for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, said she was in Church House when she was startled by a puzzling noise.
"I heard what it sounds like now — thunder — or I thought something had fallen out of the construction truck," Wilcox said.
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