The Miami Herald reports that winds from Hurricand Irma have bent and collapsed the boom of a tower crane at an under-construction apartment tower in downtown Miami.
Two Miami firefighters watched the boom at 300 Biscayne Blvd. snap, sending bricks toppling to the ground, according to the Herald. No injuries were reported.
The boom is still connected to the crane’s tower by a cable, hanging partially over the building’s side. People living nearby were urged by city officials to seek shelter on the side of their own building opposite the fallen crane or in a stairwell.
After the accident, Miami’s fire chief, city manager, mayor, and deputy building director rushed up to the fourth floor of the city’s police college, which houses Miami’s emergency operations center, to observe the damage.
At one point, cellphone video appeared to show the crane’s overhaul ball slamming into the side of the building, although Deputy Building Director Maurice Pons couldn’t confirm that was the case.
