UN HQ a firetrap, says senator

The United Nations is a disaster waiting to happen – a potential towering inferno that could be as devastating for workers, staff and visitors as the terror attacks on the World Trade Center’s twin towers, a US senator has said.

Calling the 39-storey, glass-walled building a “firetrap” which violates many sections of New York City’s building code, Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and US Ambassador John Bolton should “make it a priority” to force through a $1.6bn (€1.2bn) renovation programme.

“The United Nations’ grave state of disrepair may be hidden, but it is putting the health and safety of thousands who work within the building and in the area in a real degree of danger,” Schumer told a news conference on the street in front of the landmark complex.