Crane Demolition At Hard Rock New Orleans Goes Sideways

NEW ORLEANS (CelebrityAccess) — New Orleans officials on Sunday oversaw the attempted demolition of two construction cranes at the site of the under-construction Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans following a deadly collapse at the construction site last week.

According to CBS News, the cranes were demolished with explosions that sent the superstructure of one of the large cranes crashing to the street below while the other was left dangling on top of the ruined building.

In a followup press conference, New Orleans Fire Department Chief Tim McConnell said the crane that was still attached to the building was “very stable” but cautioned noted it was an initial assessment.

McConnell added that a sewer line was damaged by the crane that did fall into the street, CBS reported.

The two cranes were initially damaged in the collapse which occurred on October 12 when several floors of the under-construction building experienced a structural failure, leaving three workers dead and more than 20 injured.

In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson for Hard Rock said they provided funding for the demolition at the “urgent” request of the city.

“We were contacted Friday afternoon to provide urgently needed financial support for the safe removal of the two cranes. We immediately authorized the funds from an escrow account to allow the Kailas Companies to fulfill its obligation,” the statement said.

Lawsuits are already in the works against the project’s owners and contractors on behalf of some of the victims injured in the collapse.