Meanwhile, authorities confirm that they are investigating at least one claim of theft from a vacated apartment.
The victim says cash and jewelry were stolen and the apartment was ransacked upon the resident's return.
As for the investigation, officials say the prime suspect in the collapse is a $50 piece of nylon that broke while lifting a six ton piece of steel. Seven people were killed and 24 injured.
That nylon webbing was found still attached to the collar, and it could mean the disaster was set-off by this crucial piece of equipment.
The city's buildings commissioner has ordered an immediate sweep of the 250 cranes now in operation across New York City. The concern is that the equipment and procedures in use may not be up to the job.
Six construction workers and a woman from Miami, in town for St. Patrick's Day were killed Saturday when the 19-story crane broke away from an apartment tower under construction and toppled like a tree onto buildings as far as a block away. The last three bodies were found Monday.
Four of the workers killed in the accident were identified as 51-year-old Wayne Bleidner, of Pelham; 54-year-old Brad Cohen, of Farmingdale; 39-year-old Anthony Mazza, and 45-year-old Aaron Stephens, both of New York City. The fifth worker, recovered Monday morning, was identified as 37-year-old Santino Gallone, of Huntington Station. Police in the Miami suburb of Hialeah confirmed the woman found Monday was 28-year-old Odin Torres, but New York officials had not yet identified the bodies of the woman and a sixth worker found later Monday.
Twenty-four others were injured, including 11 first responders, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Eight people remained hospitalized, officials said.
A preliminary investigation found that the crane toppled when a steel collar used to tie the crane to the side of the building fell as workers attempted to install it, damaging a lower steel collar that supported the crane. With the elimination of that support, the counter-weights at the top of the crane's tower caused it to fall, investigators said.
For information on street closures and NYC's Office of Emergency Management's response to the collapse, click here
More than 300 tenants were evacuated Saturday from 17 buildings. Some are already home, and officials expect the rest will be allowed back by the end of the week.
"It seems to me they're trying to do everything they can to rectify the problem, which is pretty bad, based on what I can see," one resident said. "It's worse than I thought."
"We have a ton of friends in the city, we're kind of bouncing around between friends places. Today we were allowed in the building to get as many clothes as we can...go back to work tomorrow, and sleep on some couches," another tenant said.
Crews are able to continue this cleanup work much more quickly because all the bodies have been recovered.
Obviously, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. Two construction industry groups and a safety consultant is now being hired to check out crane installation procedures as a precaution.
Remedial operations to secure the site continue in two primary locations. At 305 East 50th Street, DOB forensic engineers, crane experts, and inspectors continue to supervise the removal of the section of the crane's mast that landed on top of the 4-story building at 305 East 50th Street. As of early Monday, seven of the 10 pieces of the mast have been removed.
At 300 East 51st Street, the other work site, two mobile cranes, positioned at East 51st Street and 2nd Avenue, have lowered the crane's boom to the street level. Once the crane's boom was lowered, workers began dissembling into parts. This work was allowed to proceed after the bolts on the crane's mast were thoroughly analyzed by engineers and found to be intact. Operations will continue as the crane's mast is removed from the site and the debris pile is stabilized Some of these parts will be secured by the NYPD and sent to a testing laboratory for analysis as part of DOB's forensic investigation.
DOB has issued vacate orders for nearly 300 residential units in 17 buildings. All of the buildings remain vacated at this time. DOB will lift the vacate orders as soon as it is safe to do so. The Buildings Department will be able to better assess when tenants can safely return to their homes once more sections of crane and debris have been removed from site. Debris removal on the sidewalk in front of 305 East 50th Street has begun.
The 17 buildings that had to be vacated near the site are:
Buildings forensic engineers have confirmed at least 7 buildings sustained damage during the accident:
300 East 51st Street / 956 2nd Avenue. This is a 19-story mixed use building with 119 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level. A small portion of the 13th and 14th (top floors) at the north east corner of the building have collapsed where the crane mast came in contact with the building.
301 East 50th Street / 944 2nd Avenue. This is a 6-story residential building with 20 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level. Portions of the roof and top two floors have collapsed due to the crane mast hitting this building.
305 East 50th Street. This was a 4-story mixed-use building with 4 dwelling units and commercial use at the street level. This building has completely collapsed.
306 East 50th Street. This is a 3-story mixed-use building with 3 dwelling units. A steel beam from the crane penetrated this building and caused damage to the middle of the building.
308 East 50th Street. This is a 5-story residential building with 3 dwelling units. The same steel beam that damaged 306 East 50th Street from the crane penetrated this building and caused damage to the side the building.
311 East 50th Street. This is a 14-story residential building with 111 dwelling units. There are some small holes in the western foundation wall which is adjacent to 305 East 50th Street which are allowing water to seep into basement. At this time, DOB inspectors have not noted any structural damage to this building.
954 2nd Avenue. This is a 4-story mixed-use building with 6 residential units and commercial space at the street level. This rear of this building sustained damaged.
Full statement from the property owner
Just hours after the collapse, the property owner released a statement.
"There are no words to describe the level of devastation we feel today as a result of this tragic event. Our heart and prayers are with the families of those who died in this horrible accident. We are also praying for a full recovery for the individuals who have been injured today. Our first priority is to support the police and fire rescue operation to ensure that all victims are accounted for and the site is rendered safe as quickly as possible.
We hired Reliance Construction Group (RCG) as our Construction Manager because not only do they have a strong reputation as quality builders, but also for their outstanding safety record. In addition, RCG has hired subcontractors of similar record and reputation. New York Crane, to the best of our knowledge, has earned a reputation as the pre-eminent crane company in the region.
We expect RCG and New York Crane to cooperate fully with any and all investigations into this tragic accident. We must find out why and how this happened as soon as possible."
Stay with Eyewitness News as we continue to bring you updates on the deadly crane collapse and the rescue operation underway.
