Gregory Echevarria was working on a block of luxury condos on the corner of Broome Street in Soho, New York when the gruesome incident took place.

Co-workers were left shocked after the freak accident involving the construction worker and dad-of-four.

One builder told the New York Post: “I didn’t see it, but I heard he was split in half. You are talking about 15,000-16,000 pounds.”

Reports suggest a second victim sustained minor injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Echevarria, a life-long resident of Brooklyn, was believed to be helping set up equipment owned by Cranes Express.

One other person died in a separate incident while working for the company, sources said.

A man who answered the phone for Cranes Express in the aftermath of the tragedy immediately hung up on a local reporter.

Eehevarria’s brother Keith, 32, also works for Cranes Express and was on site at the time of his brothers death but defended his employer.

He said: “Listen, I work for them — it’s a good company. Nobody really saw it [the incident].”

“Accidents happen. Unfortunately, two accidents that happened ended up killing somebody,” the distraught brother added.

Former war hero Gregory manned a tank during multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and will leave behind six siblings, a three-month-old son called Garrison and three other kids from a previous marriage, his family said.

“My baby has no father,” said Garrison’s sobbing mother, who was too distraught to make any further comment.

The counterweight reportedly detached as workers were getting the crane ready to move air conditioning equipment to the rooftop, according to sources.

US Department of Buildings issued an immediate “stop work” order on the building site, as the crane was taken away for analysis.

The site has received seven complaints since July, including claims of unsafe conditions and construction causing neighbouring buildings to crack, records show.

The 25-story, 54-unit “570Broome” project, in Hudson Square, is set to open for occupancy later this year. The most expensive apartments in the complex cost in excess of $5 million, according to the project website.

Among those who have purchased full-floor penthouse units is director Cary Fukunaga, who will direct the next James Bond movie with Daniel Craig.

Fukunaga won an Emmy for the first season of TV’s ‘True Detective’ series.

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