Officials blasted the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans with explosives Sunday to take down two dangerously unstable construction cranes, stunning video footage shows.
Video posted by ABC News of the controlled demolition — aimed at removing the cranes before Tropical Storm Nestor strikes — shows several fiery discharges send the cranes toppling, with one crashing to the ground while the other appears to settle atop the half-finished building.
The dramatic explosion sent massive plumes of smoke and clouds of debris billowing into the air above the city’s tourist-heavy French Quarter.
City officials warned about the precariously perched cranes after the half-finished hotel caved in last week, killing three workers and injuring dozens of others.
City heath officials temporarily evacuated people in the area on Sunday morning, according to a tweet from the agency.
