Man killed in accident at Manhattan building site

By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man was killed by a mechanical crane in an accident at a midtown Manhattan construction site on Friday and inspectors from the city's building department are investigating, city officials said. The accident involved construction equipment including a crane attached to a flatbed truck that the victim, in his 40s, used to deliver building material to the site, said City Councilman Dan Garodnick. "The gentleman who sadly lost his life was moving material from the truck to the building," Garodnick said. The victim was pinned to the ground between the crane and the truck when the vehicle's hydraulics malfunctioned, Garodnick said. A FDNY spokesman characterized the accident as mechanical and said it did not involve instability issues with the 36-story building under construction. A spokesman for the Department of Buildings said an investigation was under way. (Reporting By Frank McGurty; Additional reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Sandra Maler; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Sandra Maler)