Construction worker critically injured at Madison Avenue building site

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- A construction worker is in critical condition after he was injured in an accident at a building undergoing demolition in Midtown Manhattan.

It was a high-drama rescue with the unconscious construction worker trapped on a scaffolding 20 stories up.

Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, officials say the worker was performing demolition work on 317 Madison Avenue.

The worker was secured by a rope, when a large chunk of concrete came down on him, striking him in the head. When EMTs arrived and tried to remove him from the top floor of the building, the power to that elevator shaft was out, so rescue workers had to perform what's called a 'high angle technical recue'.

"We put him in a stretcher and lowered the stretcher down an interior shaftway, because the stretcher we had wouldn't stabilize to get him down and wouldn't fit in the construction elevator," said FDNY Deputy Chief Kevin Brannan.

Fire officials say it is unclear if the falling debris is connected to the demolition work that was being done.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time workers were injured at this same site. Last year, two workers were struck by an interior wall that collapsed. One worker sustained a serious, but non-life threatening injury. The other sustained minor injuries.