One dead and two injured when a crane falls from a building under construction in Florida

A construction worker died, while a man and a woman were injured, one of them seriously, after a construction crane collapsed on a drawbridge this Thursday afternoon in the city of Fort Lauderdale, north of Miami.

The accident occurred when part of a crane located on top of a high-rise building under construction in downtown Fort Lauderdale collapsed onto the Southeast Third Avenue Bridge over the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Firefighters checked the building under construction

“A large section of the crane fell from an elevated position. FLFR (Fort Lauderdale Firefighters) units are on scene going floor by floor of the building and securing the area around the collapse. There is one person deceased and two more transported to the Broward Health hospital,” said the firefighters of the southern Florida city.

Images of 7Skyforce and more local media like Sun Sentinel They showed a large presence of first responders, as well as two damaged vehicles: a dark-colored minivan and a Tesla SUV.

In addition, it could be seen that the heavy section of the crane was resting on a car, which was partially crushed, and another vehicle with serious damage, as well as remains of the bodywork scattered on the bridge.

A hole was made in the bridge and the passage was closed

The crane fall caused a hole in the drawbridge, which “is closed to automobile and boat traffic until officials can determine if it is structurally safe,” said Fire Chief Stephen Gollan.

The incident did not affect any other adjacent buildings and “they are completely safe,” Gollan said.

“Any accident like this is tragic, any loss of life is tragic. We are lucky that there were no more injuries or deaths,” said Bill Schultz, police chief of Fort Lauderdale, in southeastern Florida.

The driver of the Tesla, Mark Cerezin, told 7News He was crossing the bridge when he felt a kind of compression. He said he hit the brakes, stopped his vehicle and saw the tow truck hit the minivan in front of him.

Authorities did not reveal the identity of the worker who died. The accident continues to be investigated by Fort Lauderdale authorities.

With information from EFE

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