[VIDEO] 11 Story High Rise Falls on Excavator During Demolition

via YouTube

via YouTube

A nearby office worker caught video of a dramatic demolition that showed the remains of an 11 story building collapse on top of the excavator performing the demolition. 

As the crews weakened the base of the building, they used an excavator to break down the final supports, causing the building to fall.  What they didn’t plan for was for the building to fall on top of them.  The worker who caught the collapse on camera was concerned for the safety of the worker inside the excavator. 

Nashville News Channel 5 decided to investigate the job site after they got ahold of the video and the Tennessee branch of OSHA followed closely behind to also conduct an investigation.  “The images of this building demolition raise serious concerns for the assistant commissioner regarding the safety of workers at that site,” TN OSHA spokesperson Chris Cannon told News Channel 5. 

Tripping or tipping, is a common way to bring down a building, but it has to be done with caution to make sure the structure falls the correct way.  Much like a lumberjack would bring down a tree, the building supports are strategically weakened in specific areas to tell the building where to land.  Based upon the results of this demolition, it would be safe to say something went wrong.

It’s currently unknown whether or not the operator was injured by the collapse, but there are rumors that may have been taken to the hospital to be checked out.  As we learned from another demolition involving tripping that resulted in a 2.6 million pound smoke stack falling on an excavator, staying inside the cab is usually the safest place to be if something stats to fall on top of you.

I started the video, loaded to YouTube by Dean Graves, at the 1:25 mark to reduce some of the lead up to the collapse. 

Full story: WATCH: Demolition Video Raises Safety Concerns | News Channel 5

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