Eight buildings and a nearby school have been evacuated in Midtown Manhattan after steel support beams began to buckle inside a building under construction, prompting a wide precautionary response and street closures across the area.
The trouble is centered on 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, at a building being converted from office space into apartments. The site is the former Pfizer headquarters, now the subject of a major redevelopment.
According to officials, the steel support beams on the building's 21st and 22nd floors started to buckle this morning. Construction crews noticed the problem, which caused the 21st through 26th floors of the building to begin buckling under the stress.
In response, authorities evacuated not only the building itself but also surrounding buildings and a nearby school. Officials said eight buildings in total around the area had been cleared as a precaution.
A large number of streets across the low 40s were closed or in the process of closing, as crews worked the scene and urged people in the immediate area to follow the instructions of responders on the ground.
An official said the evacuations were appropriate given the situation. Crews remained at the scene assessing the stability of the structure, with details still emerging about how long the closures would last.