Three people died Wednesday after scaffolding at a 1,250-foot television tower collapsed in Florida.
The incident occurred in Miami Gardens, where the scaffolding of a tower that transmits the signal for WSVN-TV and WPLG-TV fell over, according to WPLG-TV.
The three people who died were employees of a Texas firm that was contracted to upgrade a transmission antenna.
It is not yet known how high the victims were on the tower when the scaffolding collapsed, though police believe they were near the top.
Three people died Wednesday after scaffolding at a 1,250-foot television tower collapsed in Florida
The body of one of the victims is seen above covered in yellow tarp as investigators survey the scene
It is not yet known how high the victims were on the tower when the scaffolding collapsed, though police believe they were near the top
Authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse.
‘I saw the guy on top of it – their cord was hanging down,’ one witness, Eric Garner, said.
‘I went in the house and I heard the noise. It sounded like the wind from the hurricane – the cord ripping, and then when I heard the boom. I saw the debris fly in the air and I immediately called 911.’
WPLG’s assistant chief engineer Steve Ellise told the television station that the workers were removing gear at the top of the tower to install the transmission antenna for WSVN when the accident occurred.
The incident occurred in Miami Gardens, where the scaffolding at the tower that transmits the signal for WSVN-TV and WPLG-TV (above) fell over
‘When they were removing this gear, pulling the second piece down, what they call a gin pole lifting device collapsed,’ Ellis said.
‘This is a very, very safe tower that we’ve used – that Chanel 10 and Channel 7 and all the local broadcasters have used many times.’
According to the Department of Labor, 13 people have died in falls from television and cellular towers since October 2011.