Crane collapses onto several homes in Florida
A crane collapsed across at least two homes in a Florida neighborhood Wednesday and injured at least two people including the crane operator. Aerial footage shows the boom laying on top of at least one roof causing damage.
CBS Miami reports that it happened in the Lauderhill area around 3:30 p.m. local time -- northwest of Fort Lauderdale. The crane was there for a power pole installation by Florida Power & Light (FPL). Power was knocked out in the area.
"There's significant roof and structural damage to the one house and some roof damage to the second house," Lauderhill Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Levy said at a news conference after the incident.
A fire official told CBS Miami that there were two confirmed injuries. Levy mentioned that a man was inside the home with the damaged roof and was rushed to a nearby hospital. The resident had been alert and walking around before his trip to the hospital, The Associated Press reports.
Lauderhill Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jerry Gonzalez tells the AP there are no fatalities and that she wasn't aware of the severity of the injuries.
First responders were checking the area for more damage or any additional injuries.
FPL issued a statement Wednesday noting that the crane tipped over.
"We are aware of a serious incident that happened in Lauderhill earlier today. Unfortunately, a crane operated by a contractor tipped over onto two homes while installing power poles. We are unable to provide any further information on this incident, please contact Lauderhill Fire Rescue regarding their investigation."
There was no immediate word on the cause of the accident.
Photos from the scene posted online by the Lauderhill Fire Rescue Department show crews on the scene and the crane knocked over. They wrote that it was "simply incredible that nobody was seriously injured":
