(photos courtesy of Eric Durban, aka me)
(story courtesy of the Columbia Tribune)
A strong gust of wind blew over a construction crane that landed on a downtown apartment building this morning, resulting in no injuries.
Workers from Watkins Roofing were using crane to move debris off the roof of Booches, 110 S. Ninth St., when a strong gust of wind shifted the weight of the load and caused the crane to fall onto its left side, hitting the Niedermeyer Apartments building at 920 Cherry St.
The National Weather Service said the strongest wind gust this morning was 36 mph and occurred at 10:08 a.m.
Occupants quickly vacated the apartment building just after 10 a.m., and construction workers notified authorities of the incident.
The load of debris remains on the roof of the apartment building where it landed during the fall. Capt. Eric Hartman of the Columbia Fire Department said the city’s Protective Inspections Division was working to determine the structural integrity of the building.
A crew of five roofers was working when the incident occurred.
Niedermeyer resident Miles Barnhart, watching television in his living room, heard the roofers yelling and flew to his window just in time to watch the crane slowly fall to its left side toward his apartment.
The crane arm punched through his bathroom wall, he said, and debris flew everywhere. “I knew what was happening,” he said, smoking a cigarette and still shaking.
By 11 a.m., occupants remained outside the building sharing their stories of what happened. Ashley Bohine, 22, said she was sleeping when she heard yelling outside the window.
“The whole building shook,” she said. “I looked out the window, and there was a crane on the building. How does that happen?”
Bohine said she immediately began taking photos of the incident from her window and called her mom.
