High winds blamed for scaffolding collapse in New York City's busy SoHo neighborhood

Five people suffered minor injuries.

ByABC News

November 19, 2017, 1:29 PM

Zeno Mercer tweeted this image of scaffolding that fell on Broadway and Prince in the Soho neighborhood of New York, Nov. 19, 2017.
Zeno Mercer via Twitter

 -- Wind gusts caused construction scaffolding to collapse above a subway entrance in New York City's busy SoHo neighborhood, authorities said.

Courtney Davis tweeted this image of huge scaffolding that fell below her apartment on Prince and Broadway in the Soho neighborhood, Nov. 19, 2017 in New York.
@CourtneyDavisTV/Twitter

Five people suffered moderate to minor injuries in the incident around 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday when wind gusts were reported to be around 30 mph to 35 mph. They were taken to Bellevue Medical Center.

Holly Hudson tweeted this photo of scaffolding that fell on Broadway and Prince in the Soho neighborhood of New York, Nov. 19, 2017.
Holly Hudson via Twitter

A New York City Fire Department official said the wind blew a piece of plywood that "acted like a sail" and brought the entire scaffold down. The official added that it was "absolutely" lucky no train had recently come into the subway station unloading passengers, which could have left more injured in the accident.

Passersby could be seen in video and photos on social media helping firefighters to lift lumber and metal siding that had fallen around the intersection of Prince and Broadway in the Manhattan neighborhood.