Four injured after 85-foot drill rig collapses onto car at Miami construction site

Four people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after an 85-foot (26-metre) drill rig collapsed onto three vehicles and a construction box at a construction site in Miami, Florida, on Monday morning, fire officials said. 

The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. near Southeast 12th Street and Brickell Bay Drive, where the rig fell onto a passing white BMW SUV, two parked cars and a construction box containing two workers, Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia said. 

The driver of the SUV saw the rig beginning to fall and reversed her vehicle, Hevia said. The rig landed on the front of the SUV, causing it to catch fire, while the driver escaped through the rear.

She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and has since been released, media reported. Her identity was not released.

Hevia said the fact that there were no fatalities was significant given the circumstances.

“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,” Hevia said.

Christina Larden, a resident who witnessed the incident, said that she heard “a tremendous crash” before going to the street.

“I dropped everything and went down to the street and saw a car in flames. Flames were shooting up 20, 30 feet in the air,” she said.

Two workers rescued from construction box

Two construction workers, aged 29 and 27, were inside the construction box when the drill rig fell on top of it, trapping them.

Fire crews tackled a fire at the scene while a technical rescue team cut through the metal construction box to reach the workers.

“It was a very complex scene with a fire that was occurring, our crews were putting out the fire and our technical rescue team working simultaneously to cut through the Conex box, the construction box, and they were able to successfully able to extricate the two victims,” Hevia said.

The two workers were taken to a nearby trauma centre with minor injuries.

The 47-year-old drill rig operator also escaped by jumping from the equipment as it tipped over. He was taken to hospital with the other two workers and the SUV driver.

Hevia said all 18 construction workers at the site were accounted for.

Authorities investigate cause

Officials have not said what caused the drill rig to topple. Hevia said the collapse was under investigation.

A piling rig, also known as a pile rig or drill rig, usually shares the same base as a traditional crane. Its upper section is designed to drive columns deep into the ground to support large structures.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Miami-Dade County Unsafe Structures personnel responded to the scene, officials said.

Firefighters remained at the site to monitor and control a fuel spill and prevent it from spreading until a specialised mitigation crew arrived.

Brickell Bay Drive was closed between Southeast 12th Street and 13th Street during the emergency response. Eastbound lanes of Northwest 17th Street at Seventh Avenue were also closed.

Collapse at planned Citadel headquarters site

The incident occurred at the construction site of a planned headquarters for Citadel, the investment firm founded by billionaire Ken Griffin.

Citadel referred NBC6 to Related Companies, the developer of the planned headquarters.

Related Companies said in a statement that a drill rig at 1201 Brickell “fell over and damaged three cars and a construction shed, resulting in four people requiring medical attention”.

The company said its “number one priority is the health and safety of our workers and the community” and that it was working with city and county building departments to secure the site and conduct a full investigation.

Officials have not released further details on how the drill rig fell.