A 34-year-old construction worker died yesterday afternoon after falling from scaffolding at a hotel under renovation in midtown Manhattan.

News sources citing the city's Department of Buildings say the man was working on a facade of the building using a supported scaffold, but fell through an area that was unprotected due to the removal of planks.

His body landed on scaffolding above the main entrance of the hotel – in full view of horrified spectators in nearby high-rise buildings. A person who was nearby when the incident occurred was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center suffering from chest pains, according to a spokesman for the New York Fire Department.

The Department of Buildings issued a full stop work order, and a violation for failure to safeguard persons or property affected by construction operations. Detectives are investigating the cause of the fall.

The victim worked for Alpha General Contractor of New York.

The accident occurs as the construction industry in New York is attempting to change the state's century-old Scaffold Law, which worker safety advocates are fighting to keep in place. Click here to read more.