A massive drilling rig collapsed onto three vehicles and a construction box in Miami, injuring four people and trapping two workers inside the crushed structure. A fire also erupted after the 85-foot piling rig came down. This forced emergency crews to fight the flames while trying to reach the workers.
Per NBC, the collapse happened at a construction site in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood near Southeast 12th Street and Brickell Bay Drive. Two construction workers were inside a temporary construction box when the rig fell onto it. A woman driving a BMW narrowly escaped after seeing the machinery begin to topple.
The BMW driver managed to reverse away from the falling rig before getting out of the vehicle as it caught fire. The two trapped workers, the rig operator and the driver were all hospitalized with minor injuries. Footage from the report showed the aftermath and the driver’s narrow escape from the collapse.
The rig came down with workers still inside the construction box
The two workers inside the construction box were trapped beneath the collapsed equipment. Firefighters had to deal with the vehicle fire at the same time as technical rescue crews worked to reach the workers.
Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia described the scene as “very complex,” with firefighters extinguishing the blaze while rescue personnel cut through the crushed construction box. The crews eventually reached both workers and pulled them from the wreckage…