They had been tilting dangerously, and officials had feared the towers would come down on their own, possibly smashing into nearby buildings or severely damaging underground gas and electric lines.Įxperts, including engineers who worked on demolitions following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, were called in to try to come up with a plan to clear the site and prevent further injury and damage before the cranes fell on their own.Ĭantrell told a press conference that 'we know that we are safe now than we have been in the past eight days' since the hotel collapsed.
The cranes - one around 270 feet high, the other about 300 feet - weigh thousands of tons.
