The mayor in St. Petersburg, Florida, warned residents cranes at several construction projects across the city might fall in Hurricane Milton and at the storm's peak on Wednesday night, one came crashing down.
No one was injured when the crane working on a 46-story condominium and office budling - which will be the tallest residential tower on Florida's Gulf coast - crashed into a nearby building where the Tampa Bay Times is located.
But the twisted metal gouged a hole where part of it came to rest in the brick and concrete on one corner of the building. Wires dangled down and bits of office items were strewn about. Another part of the crane blocked the street below. Nearby, Milton's winds tore panels off the roof of Tropicana Field where baseball's Tampa Bay Rays play.
No one was working in the newspaper office at the time of the collapse. City officials blocked off several blocks until they can completely assess the damage and begin working to remove the toppled and twisted crane.
Developer Red Apple Group told the newspaper that at least one crane cab in the upper section of the mast fell and they were working with city officials to assess the situation. The company didn't respond to an email from The Associated Press on Thursday.
