Video captured the moment an 85-foot drill rig came tumbling down in a busy Brickell neighborhood on Monday, crushing cars and trapping two construction workers.
It was dashcam video that captured the fall of the piece of construction equipment, which is more than eight stories tall, into Brickell Bay Drive.
The drill rig smashed into three cars and a construction container with two workers inside on Southeast 12th Street and Brickell Bay Drive at around 8 a.m.
The footage shows how it came down on a white SUV, and moments later, a woman is able to escape the vehicle before it went up in flames.
The 47-year-old drill rig operator, the two trapped construction workers and the driver of the SUV were all taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
A driver and three workers were taken to the hospital after construction equipment collapsed onto multiple cars and a construction box in Brickell. NBC6’s Steve Litz reports
“I’ve been on the fire department for 28 years, when you see the scene it’s impressive the fact that we had four victims and they were all able to be extricated or self-extricate themselves with minor injuries is a remarkable day for them,” Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia said.
The drill rig collapsed at the site of billionaire Ken Griffin’s planned headquarters for Citadel.
Citadel referred NBC6 to Related Companies, which is the developer of the planned headquarters.
Related Companies released the following statement:
“This morning, a drill rig at 1201 Brickell fell over and damaged three cars and a construction shed, resulting in four people requiring medical attention. We and our construction partners are tremendously grateful to Miami emergency services for their quick response and support.
The investigation is already ramping up into what caused a dangerous construction collapse in Brickell. NBC6’s Amy Viteri looks at the companies tied to the project and what investigators will be focused on in the days ahead.
“Our number one priority is the health and safety of our workers and the community. We are working in full cooperation with City and County building departments to secure the site and conduct a full investigation of today’s incident.”
Details on how the drill rig fell were not released. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will arrive to investigate the incident.