After looming over the streets of New Orleans for over a week, two damaged cranes that leaned precariously over the remains of a partially collapsed hotel were brought down Sunday afternoon using a series of controlled explosions.Loud blasts reverberated quickly as the cranes fell. The first crane toppled down, landing upright on Rampart Street, while the other could be seen hanging over the side of the building. Louisiana officials originally had planned to topple the cranes on Friday, before pushing the demolition to Saturday and then Sunday over crane stabilization issues and safety concerns. The Hard Rock Hotel, near the city's iconic French Quarter, was under construction when it partially collapsed on Oct. 12, killing three workers and sending debris into the neighborhood below. The two cranes -- one 270 feet high and the other about 300 feet in height -- have been a concern for officials for over a week, out of fears they may fall on their own and cause further injury and damage to nearby buildings. Workers in a bucket hoisted by a crane preparing the two unstable cranes for implosion at the collapse site of the Hard Rock Hotel n New Orleans on Friday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) "As they got up and got r they found out some things about it that have changed the way they are going to take it down ... and that's going to take a little longer for them to accomplish," Fire Chief Tim McConnell told reporters on Saturday. "The cranes are more damaged than they thought." DAMAGED CRANES HAMPERING RESCUE EFFORTS IN PARTIALLY COLLAPSED NEW ORLEANS HARD ROCK HOTEL Two bodies remained in the hotel's unstable wreckage and Mayor LaToya Cantrell said recovering the remains would be a priority once the cranes were down. The cause of the collapse remained unknown. Cantrell and McConnell said evidence-gathering started soon after the collapse, and lawsuits already have been filed against the project's owners and contractors. Workers preparing the two unstable cranes for implosion at the collapse site of the Hard Rock Hotel, which underwent a partial, major collapse while under construction on Oct., 12, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) On Sunday morning, officials d off streets in the evacuation area and other places nearby that could be affected by the implosion. Area residents were warned to prepare for a lot of noise when the demolition took place, with city officials comparing it to the sound of fireworks. The city also issued an evacuation order for the areas immediately surrounding the stricken building, with temporary evacuation zones stretching into historic areas popular with tourists. Services such as electricity, gas, water, and sewer also were shut off in the evacuation zone. NEW ORLEANS HARD ROCK HOTEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSES; AT LEAST 2 DEAD, MULTIPLE INJURED The planned implosion was set to take place sometime after 1 p.m. but was delayed well into the afternoon as officials conducted last-minute safety checks and made s
New Orleans implodes damaged cranes on partially collapsed Hard Rock hotel
After looming over the streets of New Orleans for over a week, two damaged cranes that leaned precariously over the remains of a partially collapsed hotel were brought down Sunday afternoon using a series of controlled explosions.Loud blasts reverberated quickly as the cranes fell. The first crane toppled down, landing upright on Rampart Street, while the other could be seen hanging over the side of the building. Louisiana officials originally had planned to topple the cranes on Friday, before pushing the demolition to Saturday and then Sunday over crane stabilization issues and safety concerns. The Hard Rock Hotel, near the city's iconic French Quarter, was under construction when it partially collapsed on Oct. 12, killing three workers and sending debris into the neighborhood below. The two cranes -- one 270 feet high and the other about 300 feet in height -- have been a concern for officials for over a week, out of fears they may fall on their own and cause further injury and damage to nearby buildings. Workers in a bucket hoisted by a crane preparing the two unstable cranes for implosion at the collapse site of the Hard Rock Hotel n New Orleans on Friday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) "As they got up and got r they found out some things about it that have changed the way they are going to take it down ... and that's going to take a little longer for them to accomplish," Fire Chief Tim McConnell told reporters on Saturday. "The cranes are more damaged than they thought." DAMAGED CRANES HAMPERING RESCUE EFFORTS IN PARTIALLY COLLAPSED NEW ORLEANS HARD ROCK HOTEL Two bodies remained in the hotel's unstable wreckage and Mayor LaToya Cantrell said recovering the remains would be a priority once the cranes were down. The cause of the collapse remained unknown. Cantrell and McConnell said evidence-gathering started soon after the collapse, and lawsuits already have been filed against the project's owners and contractors. Workers preparing the two unstable cranes for implosion at the collapse site of the Hard Rock Hotel, which underwent a partial, major collapse while under construction on Oct., 12, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) On Sunday morning, officials d off streets in the evacuation area and other places nearby that could be affected by the implosion. Area residents were warned to prepare for a lot of noise when the demolition took place, with city officials comparing it to the sound of fireworks. The city also issued an evacuation order for the areas immediately surrounding the stricken building, with temporary evacuation zones stretching into historic areas popular with tourists. Services such as electricity, gas, water, and sewer also were shut off in the evacuation zone. NEW ORLEANS HARD ROCK HOTEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSES; AT LEAST 2 DEAD, MULTIPLE INJURED The planned implosion was set to take place sometime after 1 p.m. but was delayed well into the afternoon as officials conducted last-minute safety checks and made s
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