Hurricane Milton knocks construction crane into St. Petersburg office building

Hurricane Milton knocked implicit a towering operation crane successful St. Petersburg connected Wednesday night, sending the crane collapsing into an bureau building.

The crane was portion of the construction of a condo building that’s acceptable to go the tallest operation connected Florida’s Gulf Coast erstwhile it’s complete, according to metropolis officials.

It was knocked disconnected equilibrium and into an already completed gathering that houses the offices of the Tampa Bay Times and respective different businesses successful downtown St. Pete.

No 1 was injured successful the incident. The Times said its newsroom was bare erstwhile Milton made landfall Wednesday night.

However, the office gathering appeared to endure superior damage, with a sizable spread created successful 1 country of the gathering and a messiness of debris falling down the side. Another portion of the operation crane was strewn crossed metropolis streets, forcing authorities to artifact disconnected the area.

A operation crane fell implicit into an bureau gathering that houses the Tampa Bay Times headquarters, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Tampa Bay Times via AP)

While construction cranes are designed to withstand winds up to 100 mph, Milton made landfall arsenic a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph sustained winds. Ahead of the storm, officials urged anyone surviving adjacent operation cranes to permission for safer regions.

The under-construction gathering volition yet scope a tallness of 515 feet, according to developers. Red Apple Group, owned by New York supermarket billionaire John Catsimatidis, is successful complaint of constructing the building.

“We are grateful that nary 1 was injured successful the area, and that the lone harm was to bricks and not to people,” Catsimatidis told Tampa Fox affiliate WTVT.

Milton made landfall astir 8:30 p.m. Wednesday adjacent Siesta Key successful Sarasota County, southbound of St. Petersburg and Tampa. The tempest killed astatine slightest 12 people and was already retired to oversea successful the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday afternoon.

With News Wire Services