Fort Lauderdale

Man Critical After Crane Partially Collapses, Hits Power Line in Fort Lauderdale

Man on ground hurt when crane made contact with electrical wires, officials said

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A man was critically injured after a crane made contact with a power line when it partially collapsed in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday morning, causing an electrical explosion.

The incident happened at a building in the 300 block of Himmershee Street.

A spokesperson for Cooper Crane said they were installing a hood fan on the roof of the building for a pizzeria. They said the worker brought the crane close to the line but the power jolted off, causing the explosion.

Footage showed the crane up against the building with some debris on the ground. A Florida Power & Light truck was also at the scene.

Officials said the man who was on the ground was injured when the crane made contact with electrical wires and he was shocked. He was taken to Broward Health as a trauma alert, officials said.

Video from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue showed the man on a stretcher being placed into an ambulance.

“The calls originally came in from a police officer who was in the area patrolling. He had stated that there was one adult male that had been electrocuted," Fire Rescue spokesman Stephen Gollan said. "We found a crane that had come in contact with high voltage lines. The FPL lines that it came in contact with are approximately 138,000 volts."

A woman who was having breakfast across the street said she heard a loud bang and saw a man on the ground.

"Really just a loud explosion. Some guy fell on the ground yelling really loud. We all kind of got up to make sure someone was calling someone and then it happened again," Misty Collier said. "The cop showed up shortly afterwards and there was an officer trying to help him and then it happened a third time and all the asphalt that was under the crane just blew up.”

Officials said other workers, including one who was on the crane and another who was on the roof of the building, weren't injured.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back with NBC 6 for updates.

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