MIAMI, March 25, 2008
2 Workers Killed In Miami Crane Collapse
5 Construction Workers Also Injured As Crane Topples At High-Rise Condominium Site
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Play CBS Video Video Aerials Of Miami Crane Collapse "CBS News RAW": Police say at least two construction workers were killed and four others injured in a Miami crane collapse that struck an abandoned home near a high-rise condominium construction site.
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The arm of the crane fell and crashed through the roof of this nearby low-rise building. (CBS)
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(CBS)
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(CBS)
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(CBS)
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Photo Essay Miami Crane Collapse Two dead after crane plummets 30 floors at Florida construction site.
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Photo Essay Deadly Collapse Giant crane topples, smashing into a block of residential buildings in NYC
Five other workers were injured, one critically, at the site of the 40-plus-story luxury condo tower on Biscayne Bay.
The part that fell was a section workers had been raising to extend the equipment's reach, Miami fire spokesman Ignatius Carroll said. The crane's main vertical section was intact.
The section smashed through the Spanish-tiled roof of the two-story home, which police spokesman Delrish Moss said had been used in the 1998 comedy film "There's Something About Mary."
Emergency workers and dogs found no evidence of trapped victims, but fire officials said rescue efforts were hampered because the crane section remained unstable. Rescue workers were trying to secure a severely damaged wall before re-entering the house to check for anyone inside.
David Martinez, 31, a pipe fitter, was on the fourth floor of the condo tower eating lunch when the crash occurred.
"It was like a small earthquake," he said. "We looked outside, and we couldn't even see." It took several minutes for the dust to clear, Martinez said.
One of those killed died in the house, and the other died at a hospital, Moss said.
Mary Costello, a senior vice president for Bovis Lend Lease Holdings Inc., which was managing the construction, said the accident occurred when a subcontractor tried to raise the crane section and it came loose.
The company is cooperating with investigators, she said.
"Our hearts are heavy at this moment for the two deceased individuals, including one of our own employees and the additional injured workers," she said in a statement.
The subcontractor, Morrow Equipment Co., and the tower developer, Royal Palms Communities, did not return phone messages seeking comment.
The U.S. Office of Safety and Health Administration had two investigators at the site.
Darlene Fossum, an area director for the agency, said Bovis Lend Lease had partnered with OSHA in the past and was considered a company that went "above and beyond" in terms of safety and health.
Fossum added that OSHA issued five violations against Morrow in a December 1999 incident in Florida, but those mostly involved problems with digging and not cranes. The Salem, Ore.-based company has faced 15 inspections nationwide.
The state of Florida does not license or regulate tower cranes or crane operators, but bills moving through both houses of the Legislature would change that.
In 2006, a fatal crane accident in Miami-Dade County prompted local officials to work with industry leaders on an ordinance that would beef up inspections and safety measures for lifting cranes. The law is to go into effect Friday.
Tuesday's accident came 10 days after a 20-story crane toppled at a New York construction site, killing seven people. The crane demolished a four-story town house and damaged several other buildings.
New York City officials said Tuesday they have told contractors they can't raise or lower large cranes at construction sites unless a buildings inspector is there.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.
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See all 21 CommentsEveryone please re-read what you''ve posted. Such nonsense! We''re going the way of the Congo because a crane collasped, yeah, right. In a country of 300 million, there will always be events such as these. But then, foolish people equate everything that amazingly works like clockwork in this country with the Congo. Your lack of education and possibly intelligence is almost comical.
Do something nice for someone.
Peace and Love
Posted by solar991
Should, could, DID, but that industry is basically GONE- the massive Pennsylvania steel mills are GONE, steel mostly comes from China and Canada now.
Thing with steel is, metals- ALL metal prices have skyrocketed, in part due to energy costs, imagine how much heat (and fossil fuels) it takes to melt STEEL, and remelt steel ingots weighing 10 TONS.
The furnaces take enormous quantities of fuel to reach 2800 degrees and they don''t shut those huge furnaces off like your kitchen oven, they run 24/7
A day late and a dollar short as usual, but theres far more ''important'' bills to be passed into the funnel before the deadline Im sure, like the bottle recycling bill! like the one man one woman marriage bill!
"What do they mean tower cranes or operators are licensed? What are they nuts?"
Mainemade
A license doesnt mean or guarantee anything, as proven by the licensed drunk drivers and those who fall asleep at the wheel or plow head on into someone while distracted tuning the radio or cell fone.
You cant license against stupidity or carelessness, this crane obviously was not hooked up right or some idiot didnt put a pin or safety in.
As far as steel goes, most steel now seems to come from CHINA, you know- the country who poisoned our pets with defective feed, poisoned kids with lead painted toys and the list goes on. It would not surprise me in the least if the steel they ship here from China is salvaged from radioactive scrap, or contaminated with impurities and poor quality control- who would think to test for radioactive steel?
China ALSO makes black iron pipe used for GAS LINES, scary huh?
Now they sue the construction company??
It''s like this mainemade, the states you are talking about are those awful "red states" where Democratic state legislatures spend their days amusing themselves with senseless regulations that just serve to impose costs on legitimate businesses, etc, etc. Of course, the regulations also help save workers'' lives and stuff, but if you''re a "true conservative" you don''t let that color your thinking.
Has anyone done a study on worker injuries in red vs. blue states?
Don''t forget about the big dig accident. A woman was crushed, when the ceiling tile fell.
collapsed on Boylston St. a couple of years ago during
the construction of a building for, I beleive, Emerson
College. Soneone in a car it fell on was crushed.
This took place in the summer of 2006.
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