I remember this. I grew up in Brooklyn, and was still in HS when this happened. One of the workers killed, a father of 4, lived on the next block from us. Years later, one of his sons came to work for my father who owned an italian deli. I know they received a large sum of money as a result of the accident.
For some reason, I was sure this happened in 1973 (funny you remember things 37 yrs ago, but forget where you put your keys) and looked it up. According to this site, it happened in 1973.
http://www.laohamutuk.org/Oil/LNG/Refs/015CECLNGSafety.pdfFebruary 1973, Staten Island, New York- While repairing the interior of an
empty storage tank, a fire started. The resulting increase in pressure inside the
tank was so fast that the concrete dome on the tank lifted and then collapsed
down inside the tank killing the 37 construction workers inside.