Transmission tower workers fall about 1,000 feet to their deaths
MIAMI -- An investigation is underway after three workers fell about 1,000 feet to their deaths while working on a transmission tower in a Miami suburb, CBS station WFOR-TV reports.
Police and rescue personnel responded to the area in Miami Gardens around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
"I've been noticing the crane for a while," said Eric Garner, who lives nearby. "They had the crane up there, the structure up there a couple days ago. It rained Monday, so they couldn't get it done."
Garner said the workers were near the top of a structure he described as a crane right next to the tower.
"I saw the guy on top of it," said Garner. "The cord was hanging down. I went in the house, and I heard the noise. It sounded like the winds from the hurricane, the cord ripping. And then when I heard the boom I saw the debris fly up in the air."
The police said the structure next to the tower, which stands about 1,000 feet high, collapsed.
"I called 911," said Garner. "You know, that's all about I can do, and I just prayed for the guys, you know what I mean, the families."
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene, but the workers were pronounced dead. They had been working on a tower that transmits the signals for WPLG-TV and WSVN-TV.
WSVN-TV released a statement that read, "We are saddened by this tragic event. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of the three men who died. They worked for a company hired by Channel 7 to perform work on the tower that was required by the FCC."
The names of the workers have not been released.