Military veteran, 34, is 'SPLIT IN HALF' by a seven-ton counterweight becoming the third New York construction worker to be killed in a week Gregory Echevarria, 34, was crushed by part of a 7-ton crane that came loose on a Manhattan construction site Saturday He died at the scene, and two other workers were taken to hospital with minor injuries Echevarria was a veteran who served four tours of duty with the U.S. military, his brother said Two other construction workers have died on New York building sites in the past week By Andrew Court For Dailymail.com Published: 21:53 BST, 13 April 2019 | Updated: 21:58 BST, 13 April 2019 Viewcomments A construction worker who served four tours of duty with the U.S. military was killed on a work site in Manhattan early Saturday morning. Gregory Echevarria, 34, was 'split in half' after part of a 7-ton crane came loose and crashed down on him in SoHo shortly after 3 AM. Echevarria died at the scene, making him the third New York construction worker to be killed on the job in less than a week. Gregory Echevarria, 34, was killed early Saturday morning whilst working in SoHo, Manhattan Witnesses were left distraught, and Echevarria's brother Keith was also working at the scene Echevarria was working a short distance from this site in Manhattan when the accident occurred The hardhat worker was allegedly helping to assemble the crane in wet conditions when a counterweight came loose and fell from above. Two other people sustained minor injuries and were taken to hospital. Echevarria's brother, Keith, was also working at the construction site, but did not witness the accident. He told The New York Daily News that his brother had served three tours of duty with the U.S. military in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan. Two other workers were rushed to hospital with minor injuries The crane was going to be used to complete work on a luxury 25-story apartment block. The Department Of Building 'put a partial stop work order on the property on April 2 after receiving complaints that the building didn't meet safety standards', The New York Daily News claims. That order was pulled last Monday after the concerns were addressed. Echevarria is the third person to be killed on New York work sites in less than a week. On Monday, Nelson Salinas, 51, died in Manhattan after being hit by falling debris while working on external repairs of a building. Two days later, Erik Mendoza, 23, fell to his death from a 13-story building in Brooklyn. Buildings Department spokesman Andrew Rudansky said they are investigating all three deaths. The hardhat worker was allegedly helping to assemble the crane in wet conditions when a counterweight came loose and fell from above Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility