Horrific construction accident in Astoria

From NBC:

A crane dropped a materials load into a renovation site in Queens on Tuesday afternoon, injuring three construction workers, including two critically, fire officials said.

Dozens of firefighters descended on a two-story brownstone on 28th Road, between 31st and 33rd streets, in Astoria just before 4 p.m.

"It was just a big explosion," said Astoria resident Marianna O'Neill. "It was loud and it was long."

A 37-year-old construction worker who managed to get out of the building on his own was transported to a hospital with serious injuries.

A 40-year-old construction worker was seen being pulled from the building on a stretcher shortly after 4 p.m. He or she appeared to be conscious but had critical injuries, officials said.

Around 5:30 p.m., firefighters were still working to free a 28-year-old construction worker who was trapped under "a few thousand pounds of construction materials in the basement of the building," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a press conference, adding that the man's legs were under 1,200-pound beams.

Fire officials said that neither a crane nor a crane boom collapsed. They said a load of materials that had been placed on the roof of the building for renovation collapsed, falling all the way to the ground floor or basement. A large hole could be seen in the roof of the building.

The building is in the process of being converted from a two-family house to a three-family house, according to the Dept. of Buildings database.