Part of a crane falls on Fort Lauderdale bridge, killing 1 person and injuring 3 others

Part of a crane fell on a bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Thursday afternoon, killing one person and injuring three others, authorities said.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said at a news conference Thursday authorities received numerous 911 calls around 4:30 p.m. about a crane that had collapsed on SE 3rd Avenue. Gollan said at the time of the collapse, it was an open intersection with vehicles passing on both north and southbound lanes.

Gollan said crews evacuated the area upon arrival and then went floor by floor to make sure the construction workers who were working on the building were safe and accounted for. Gollan said one worker fell off the side of the building with the crane part and died as a result of the injuries.

Two people who were in their vehicles on the bridge at the time of the incident were transported to Broward General Hospital, one in stable condition and the other with minor injuries, according to Gollan. A third person suffered minor injuries and refused to be treated, Gollan said.

Gollan said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department are investigating the incident. He also said the Florida Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard will assess the bridge, as the incident left a hole in the bridge upon impact.

"It's my understanding from the construction company that they were doing a process at the time called stepping the crane. It was not the crane per se that actually failed. It was a platform that they had equipment staged on that had failed at the time of the incident and those items fell from the building down onto the bridge below," Gollan said.  

The New River was temporarily closed to all marine traffic and the bridge was closed to road traffic, but according to WSVN, a TV station based in Miami, the bridge has been reopened.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].