NEW ORLEANS—Officials set off thundering explosions that toppled two cranes on Sunday, Oct. 20, that had loomed precariously for days over a partially collapsed hotel in New Orleans, saying their controlled demolition went “exactly” as planned and efforts now would focus on retrieving two bodies still inside the ruined building.
The fiery afternoon explosions sent up massive clouds of dust and sent one crane crashing to the street while the second fell in a way that left much of it resting atop the ruined hotel building where officials said it was “stable” and could be removed piecemeal.
