Transformer plummets 53 floors

TORONTO, ONTARIO - More than a dozen people looked on in horror as a heavy piece of construction equipment broke free from a crane and tumbled 53 storeys into a downtown parkette.

“Nobody knew what the hell was going on,” said a witness who watched as the transformer slammed into the grass just feet from where a group of women had stopped to have a cigarette.

“They bolted,” he said. “They were running and screaming.”

The air conditioner-sized piece of equipment fell from the south side of the rooftop of the planned Ritz-Carlton hotel complex on Wellington St., between John and Simcoe Streets, around 10:30 a.m., said a representative of Graywood Developments Ltd.

Construction crews were dismantling the crane when a chain snapped, hurtling the transformer to Simcoe Park, a grassy area on Front St. W. which is typically packed during the noon hour with people on their lunch breaks.

Workers quickly condoned off the area near the south side of the hotel complex while the labour ministry was called in to investigate.

Representatives from Ellis Don, the construction company overseeing the project, couldnÂ’t be reached for comment.

No one was injured in the incident, police and fire authorities confirmed.

The Ritz-Carlton is slated to open this fall and was designed to mimic the sweeping curves of nearby Roy Thomson Hall, according to the companyÂ’s website. The hotel will boast 267 rooms, 159 condominiums, a restaurant, ballrooms and a spa.