Five people were injured over the weekend when gusty winds flipped over a gazebo at a dayclub pool on the rooftop of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood.
A “partial failure” of the structure in the outdoor pool area of the DAER Dayclub was due to wind gusts about 7 p.m. Saturday, Gary Bitner, a spokesperson for Seminole Police Department, said in an email Monday afternoon.
A strong thunderstorm crossed over southern Broward County that evening, resulting in gusts up to 39 mph across the region. The gust that knocked down the gazebo was about 38 mph based on a measurement taken at the nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to a National Weather Service Miami storm report.
Video shared on social media by a witness showed gray skies, palm trees around the pool swaying in the wind and the metal gazebo flipped over on the pool deck near a bar and some daybeds. After a group of bystanders lifted up the gazebo, a man was seen helping up a woman who had blood on her face. Several other bystanders could be seen squatting over another person lying on the pool deck.
The five people who were injured had been under or near the structure when it was knocked down, Bitner said. All were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and were expected to recover.