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CHICAGO (STNG) ― A crane slammed into a downtown building near Millennium Park on Saturday.

Emergency crews were called about 11 a.m. to the scene of a construction accident in an alley between 6 N. Michigan Ave. and 17 N. Wabash Ave., according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.

A "very large, 700-foot" crane parked in the alley slammed into the rear of the building at 17 N. Wabash Ave., he said.

According to Langford, the crane's jacks went through the alley pavement when it attempted to deploy. The crane then fell into 17 N. Wabash Ave., a six-story building, as its front wheels were lifted 15-feet off the ground.

The crane caused structural damage to the upper floors of the building, which was evacuated, Langford said. He did not know which building the crane was working on.

In addition to 17 N. Wabash Ave., buildings near the crash scene including 20 N. Michigan Ave. and the Pittsfield Building at 55 E. Washington St. have been evacuated as a precaution, Langford said. The 6 N. Michigan Ave. building has been partially evacuated.

Imperial Crane Services Inc., of Bridgeview, was on the scene with another crane to extract the crashed one, but the extraction failed according to Langford. Crews were bringing a larger crane to the scene as of 5:45 p.m. "The plan is to get it out of the building and disassemble it," he said.

"The question now is whether the building is holding the crane up," Langford said.

The Chicago Building Department is on the scene and no injuries have been reported.

As a precaution, trains will not serve stations along Wabash and Lake. Buses that normally travel on Washington and Madison are being rerouted.

The following routes are also affected by the accident:

Green Line: Trains are operating into and out of the Loop via Van Buren and Wells.

Brown Line: Inbound trains will only operate as far as the Merchandise Mart station before turning back. There will be no Brown Line service at Loop stations. Customers wishing to continue into the Loop can transfer to Red Line trains.

Orange Line: Inbound trains will travel as far as the Roosevelt Road stations. Passengers who wish to continue into the Loop can transfer to Red or Green Line trains at the elevated station at Roosevelt to continue their trips.

Red Line: Due to construction work, Red Line trains are operating on elevated tracks this weekend instead of their normal route through the subway. Red Line trains will operate along the elevated tracks at Van Buren and Wells. Northbound trains will continue to the Merchandise Mart station, serving Chicago, Sedgwick and Armitage before resuming the regular route at Fullerton. Southbound trains will resume the regular route south of Roosevelt.

Pink Line: Trains will operate only as far as Racine where passengers can transfer to the Blue Line to continue into the Loop. Pink Line trains will not serve Ashland, Clinton or any Loop elevated stations.

Blue Line service is not affected.

The East bound bus routes #14, are being rerouted from Washington to Monroe at Clark Street. When they reach Michigan Avenue they will resume their regular routes. West bound service is from Michigan to Randolph to State then back to Madison to resume the regular route.

East bound #20, #56 and #60 are being rerouted from Washington to Wacker at Dearborn. When they reach Michigan Avenue they will resume their regular routes. West bound buses are traveling from Michigan to Adams to State then to Madison to resume their regular routes.

(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)