NEW YORK (AFP) — A New York City employee has been charged with lying about an inspection he supposedly made of a construction crane that collapsed last weekend killing seven people, according to reports Thursday.
Buildings department inspector Edward Marquette had falsely indicated that he inspected the crane on March 4, the day after a report was made expressing concern over the crane's stability, the New York Times reported.
However, the newspaper said Marquette's failure to inspect the crane was almost certainly not a factor in the deadly collapse, which officials think may have been caused by a nylon strap failing.
A buildings department spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
Seven people were killed, six of them construction workers, when the 60-meter (200-foot) crane collapsed and crushed an entire residential building and damaged several other properties.
City Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the accident as "one of the worst the city has had."
The building under construction, a 43-story residential block, had been cited for 13 safety violations, five of which were still outstanding, according to local authorities.
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