4 hospitalized after crane collapses in Miami, fire rescue says

Four people were taken to the hospital on Monday after a crane collapsed in Brickell, fire rescue officials said. According to Miami Fire Rescue, the crane collapsed on Southeast 12th Street and Brickell Bay Drive. Video shows the downed crane, as well as vehicle next to it that caught on fire. Fire rescue said that the driver of the white SUV that caught on fire saw the crane falling, stopped her vehicle and put in reverse. The crane then landed on the SUV’s hood, which caused a fire, and the driver was able to escape by going to the back. Four people, including three construction workers, were taken to the hospital after a complex rescue operation. Two workers, ages 29 and 27, were in a construction box when the crane fell on top of it, trapping them. “It was a very complex scene with a fire that was occurring, our crews were putting out the fire and our technical rescue team working simultaneously to cut through the Conex box, the construction box, and they were able to successfully able to extricate the two victims,” Miami Fire Rescue Chief Robert Hevia. A third construction worker, the crane operator, jumped out of the crane as it was tipping over. The 47-year-old crane operators, the two other constructions workers and the driver of the SUV, were then taken to the hospital with minor injuries. All 18 constructions workers on the site were accounted for, Hevia said. NBC6 spoke with a resident who saw the crane collapse. “On my way home, I ran an errand at Publix, and was turning the corner in order to access my parking garage, as I entered, I heard a tremendous crash,” Christina Larden said. “I dropped everything and went down to the street and saw a car in flames. Flames were shooting up 20, 30 feet in the air.” Details on how the crane fell were not released. As crews work the incident, Brickell Bay Drive has been closed between Southeast 12th Street and 13th Street. The eastbound lanes of Northwest 17th Street at Seventh Avenue were also closed. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will arrive to assess the incident.