HOUSTON -- A construction crane collapsed in northeast Houston on Wednesday, killing one worker and critically injuring two others.

A crew was working on a highway billboard around 10 a.m. when the crane toppled, sending workers tumbling to the ground 50 to 60 feet below.

It appeared the weight of the crane shifted and part of the equipment slipped down in the mud, causing the crane to tip, said Houston police Sgt. D.J. Crain.

The workers' names were not immediately released.

The accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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Thanks, will post this.

Brian

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5.7.2006

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Hi Vince, will post this.

Brian

Miami Florida Bal Harbour

3 workers buried alive in construction accident

Buried in drying concrete, three construction workers died when part of the roof of a condominium collapsed.

BY DAVID OVALLE, CHARLES RABIN AND MARTIN MERZER

mmerzer@MiamiHerald.com

A macabre construction accident claimed three lives Saturday when the roof of a condominium project partially collapsed, burying and pinning workers in quick-drying concrete that ultimately crushed them, authorities said.

Hours after the accident, workers tethered above the victims swung pickaxes and hammers to chip away at three-foot-deep concrete so they could remove the bodies.

''These people were basically buried alive in concrete,'' Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Lt. Eric Baum said as he stood at the 26-story construction site on Collins Avenue, just south of Haulover Inlet in Bal Harbour.

A fourth victim was hospitalized, apparently with heart problems.

''The sad part is I could hear men crying for help,'' said Dana Phillips, 66, who lives in a complex across the street and was on her balcony when a loud sound and billowing cloud of dust startled her shortly before 10 a.m. ``It was an excessive big boom.''

The workers were on the roof when a wood and metal frame used to form the concrete collapsed and dropped them -- along with moist, quicksand-like concrete and heavy steel debris -- to the 26th floor, authorities said.

One victim was entirely submerged in the concrete and two others were partially buried, according to Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Capt. Al Cruz. A chocolate Labrador retriever named Hobbes, belonging to a Coral Gables fire-rescue unit, alerted workers to the submerged body.

''You could not put your hands in there and look,'' Baum said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but Bal Harbour Village Manager Alfred Treppeda refuted early reports about an errant crane. Miami-Dade detectives and experts from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected the site.

''This was the last pour of the building,'' said Dan Nieda, director of Bal Harbour's building department. ``We were planning to have the topping-off party next week. It's very unfortunate.''

He said the building -- to be known as One Bal Harbour, featuring 185 apartments priced from $1.75 million to more than $12 million -- passed all inspections.

''It's shocking,'' Nieda said. ``I've been doing this for 16 years, and it's the first time I've experienced a death at a construction site. Three at one time is really horrible.''

One anguished woman, who said she was the niece of a victim, wailed as she arrived at the scene and fell into the arms of a Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue captain. He accompanied her to a rescue truck, where detectives interviewed her. She identified her uncle as Edny Guirand, 36, originally from Haiti.

Family members identified another victim as Torivio Acevedo Trejo from Querétaro, Mexico. The names of the third man who died and of the hospitalized worker were not available.

It was the area's second fatal construction accident in less than a month. On April 17, worker Jesse B. Morris, 47, plummeted from the 39th floor of the MarinaBlue site in downtown Miami after a collision between a moveable platform and a crane.

On Saturday, at least 75 engineers and firefighters worked at the scene of the latest accident.

A large orange and white frame dangled precariously from the roof. Firefighters used an elevator to gain access to the 20th floor, climbing steps the rest of the way.

A portion of Collins Avenue was intermittently closed Saturday evening as workers high above the ground secured the weakened frame. ''We are trying to stabilize it to the best of our ability so that we can go up there and determine what caused the accident,'' Cruz said.

Public documents identified the construction company as Boran Craig Barber Engel Construction Inc. of Naples. The owner and developer of the site was identified as WCI Communities, Inc., based in Bonita Springs.

The site was the home of the Harbour House, which was razed a few years ago.

According to WCI's website, the project includes a 26-story building with luxury ''tower estates and grand penthouses [that] will range from approximately 2,000 to 8,000 square feet and offer spectacular views of the ocean.'' Next to the tower the company is building a ''five-star quality hotel,'' the Regent Bal Harbor, which will be managed by Regent International Hotels.

In a statement, officials of WCI said they ``will work closely with local officials to determine the cause of today's event.''

Brian,

Letting you know that this prediction has happened. You were right on target. This happened yesterday here in Miami Florida Bal Harbour. Keep up the great work

Vince