Nobody injured, no major damage
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The collapse of a crane sent construction workers running for their lives in a Florida city on Thursday, nearly striking a man as it toppled over.
St. Petersburg Police Department said in a tweet with the video that no one was injured and that the construction site at the new police headquarters didn’t suffer major damage.
The police video captured by surveillance cameras shows the dramatic moments as the giant crane tipped over, sending two workers below sprinting away. The crane narrowly missed a worker who was trying to flee as it crashed to the ground, sending roiling clouds of dust over the construction site. The video shows at least eight workers running for their lives.
The Tampa Bay Times reports the crawler crane, which is operated from a cab near the ground, was carrying a scissor lift weighing about 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms). A worker told the newspaper that an operator who was inside the crane when it collapsed “limped away” after it fell.
Police said the crane suffered damage.
Construction began on the new police headquarters building last year and is expected to be complete by next spring. City records show $70 million was budgeted for the project.