By Adam Kramer
Using their hands, saws and hydraulic lifts to sift through an enormous pile of debris, rescue workers staged a dramatic rescue on the Creedmoor Psychiatric Campus that saved the life of a crane operator who was buried under tons of steel and cement last week.
Jairam Ragnanth, 31, was clearing construction debris from a demolished building at Creedmoor Feb. 14 to make room for three new schools and apparently yanked a steel I-beam in the back of the pile, a spokesman for the School Construction Authority said.
“He pulled a piece of steel and brought all the stuff down on him,” said Dan McCormack of the School Construction Authority, which is building the schools. “The debris wedged him in his cab and he had to be released.”
Ragnanth was rushed to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he was listed in stable condition. He was released from the hospital Sunday with no broken bones, said Betty Olt, a spokeswoman for the North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health Care System.
“He turned out to be a fairly lucky guy,” McCormack said of Ragnanth, whose address was not known.
Originally, it had been reported that the building that was being demolished come crashing down on Ragnanth.
Harvey Shapiro, area director for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Tuesday the accident was still under investigation and it could take up to six months to complete.
McCormack said Ragnanth worked with Condor Associates, a company that was subcontracted by AMMC Corp., the general contractor hired by the School Construction Authority.
Police and firefighters arrived at the construction site at 76th Avenue and Commonwealth Boulevard just after noon to find Ragnanth trapped under tons of steel and cement. There were more then 200 officials on the scene, but 10 ESU workers — five around him, two at this head and three at his feet — used their hands, pneumatic drills, a hydraulic spreader and saws to get him out.
What made the rescue attempt even more difficult was the on-and-off drizzling rain and the instability of the ground, which was soft and muddy. The weather forced workers to carry most of the rescue equipment onto the site by hand.
“Normally the cab is 30 inches, basically just a seat, like a seat in a VW, and add a slab of concrete sliding into the cab from the left. It looked like he was under a floor,” said ESU Officer Michael Laxton. “We talked to him and he was saying ‘Get me out of here.’”
ESU Officer Tom Langone said the cab on the crane, which had a claw-like hand attached, was squashed down to only 10 inches high from the weight of the debris.
“The wall shifted and slid sideways onto the cab,” said Sgt. James Buscemi. “It appears he was working on something in front of him when the wall collapsed, burying him under two steel I-beams and two sections of the wall.”
Laxton said emergency workers cut the metal of the cab and used their hands to remove debris inch by inch until they had stabilized the area and Ragnanth could be pulled out. He could not say how long it took to extract Ragnanth.
He said Ragnanth’s legs were folded underneath him in an almost fetal-like position. The rescuers had to be extremely careful not to aggravate any of Ragnanth’s injuries.
Deputy Fire Chief Stanley Dawe said the rescue workers did not have a lot of time to think about the conditions or what they needed to do. They just reacted.
“Everyone worked together. It was a joint operation,” said ESU Officer Stephen Bilhar. “We couldn’t cut anything without being told what to cut. It was a nice joint effort.”
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
