Unstable skyscraper sparks major evacuation in New York’s Manhattan

Emergency services evacuated a busy Manhattan street block during the morning rush hour on July 7 after structural columns buckled inside a skyscraper undergoing construction work, officials said.



The former head office of drug giant Pfizer, near Grand Central station and the United Nations headquarters, is being converted from offices into apartments in a major overhaul at the 37-storey tower.



The developer insisted there was no risk of the entire building collapsing.



But city officials warned the situation remained serious as they worked to determine if the structure was safe enough to enter to perform remedial work.



"Two structural columns have buckled, in addition to multiple cracks and sagging floors. The building remains unstable. Since arriving on scene, we have witnessed additional movement in one of the compromised columns," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.



No one has been injured and all the workers in the building repurposing work are accounted for, the mayor said, adding that the project engineer was working with structural engineers to develop plans to shore up the tower.