At least 1 killed, 6 Injured by Collapsed Crane Hits Occupied Apartment Building During Storm

As a storm blew through the Dallas, Texas area on Sunday afternoon, a tower crane standing near an occupied apartment building collapsed causing at least one fatality and 6 injuries.

CBS DFW reported that the building that was badly damaged by the crane was the Elan City Lights apartment complex near Good Latimer and Live Oak in Downtown Dallas. As of Sunday evening, 2 of the injured were listed in critical condition, 3 were in serious condition, and another has already been released.

The damage caused to the building was extensive, as seen in the tweeted pictures above. The building will be evacuated until it can be structurally secured. The property manager will set up temporary living arrangements for the residents, CBS reported. A video taken by a resident showed the damage to the parking garage:

It’s initially speculated that the strong wind on the storm is the main factor in the crane collapse, but that fact has not been confirmed yet. Dallas News reports that 70mph winds were recorded in the area during the storms.

The last time that we saw a crane buckle from wind was in Miami, Florida due to Hurricane Irma.  In that case, the cranes had been designed to withstand winds of up to 145mph.  It’s also a standard practice to release the break on tower cranes during strong wind events in order to allow the crane to spin freely in the wind.

This is the second time so far this year that a crane collapse has caused civilian deaths.  The first happened in Seattle, Washington as crews were working on dismantling the crane when it fell onto the street below. 2 workers and 2 civilians were killed in the incident and another 4 were injured. It’s suspected that the premature removal of the pins were the cause of the failure, but that has not yet been confirmed.

We’ll follow up on this story as more details of the Dallas crane collapse are released. There is a grainy video of the collapse below, as well.

ABC World News Tonight also has some more details on the incident below:

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