1 dead after crane collapses onto Florida bridge, smashing cars down below

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (TND) — One person was killed and three people were injured after a crane collapsed Thursday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Ft. Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said during a news conference that numerous 911 calls came in around 4:30 p.m. about a crane that had collapsed onto the Southeast 3rd Avenue bridge. At the time, it was an open intersection and vehicles were passing in the northbound and southbound lanes.

Drone video captured at the scene from local station WSVN shows a cube-shaped part of the crane on top of a smashed black vehicle. Another vehicle nearby sustained damage to the front.

Three individuals driving on the bridge at the time of the collapse were injured, according to Gollan.

Gollan said crews stabilized the area and checked the building floor by floor to make sure workers were safe and accounted for. One worker had fallen with the load off the side of the building and succumbed to his injuries.

Police emphasized that it wasn't the crane that had failed, it was the platform that held equipment that malfunctioned and caused the items to fall onto the bridge below.

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are on their way to the scene. The Florida Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard will also be assisting.