Cranes at three South Florida high rises under construction collapsed in the face of heavy winds as Hurricane Irma ripped through the area on Sunday, days after authorities warned about dangers to cranes from the approaching storm.
No injuries were reported in any of the three collapses, and investigations would begin after the storm cleared, officials said.
Soon after one of the cranes collapsed, the chief executive of the company developing the building said he was attending the US Open tennis tournament in New York when the accident occurred and had just learned about it.
“This particular crane, some of it was taken down,” Jorge Perez, chief executive of The Related Group, Miami’s largest developer, said by telephone. “They were surprised that it went down because they felt it was one of the more secure cranes, so we’re right on it.”
A video posted on Twitter showed the crane’s boom dangling above the unfinished building.
A crane at a Related Group project in Fort Lauderdale went down later on Sunday, Perez said. He had no immediate details about the incident.
