Update: Crane Collapse at National Cathedral Damages Two Buildings

Update 12:25 p.m.

There was an operator in the base of the crane at the National Cathedral that collapsed during a thunder storm around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The man was able to get out of the base, has been able to walk around, and is under going evalutions by Fire and EMS personnel on the scene, according to Craig Stapert, a spokesperson for the cathedral.

Stapert said that engineers will be evaluting the impact to the two structures hit by the crane, but added that at this point "neither looks substantially damaged."

Part of the roof of the Herb Cottage was damaged and its masonry appeared impacted, but no one was in the cottage at the time, said Stapert.

As for the Church House, the crane stretches across the front yard, but it appears to have largely missed the structure itself.

Stapert said it was too soon to know how Wednesday's incident would impact the overall timeline and cost of repairs to the cathedral underway after an earthquake two weeks ago.

Original Post

A crane has collapsed at the National Cathedral, damagin two buildings on the property, but not the cathedral itself, according to cathedral officials.

According to cathedral officials the crane damaged the Herb Cottage, which serves as a gift shop, and the Church House, which serves as the offices of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

Officials could not confirm any injuries by EMS officials are on site.

The crane was on location at the cathedral handling clean up after the caused to exterior stone structures.

Patch is en route to the cathedral and will provide updates as they become available.