Four people are dead and three others injured after a large crane collapsed off a building and onto a street in Seattle, crushing multiple cars.
The collapse occurred over the west side of the intersection at Fairview Avenue North and Mercer Street in the neighborhood of South Lake Union. According to the Seattle Fire Department, a total of six cars were crushed.
The Seattle Fire Department just before 5 p.m. local time. Three of the injured victims were taken to the hospital.
Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said during a press conference that four of the victims, three men and one woman, were dead on arrival. Two of the deceased victims were operators on the crane and the two others were in separate vehicles. Three of the injured victims — a 27-year-old male, 25-year-old female, and 4-month old infant — were hospitalized and a fourth individual was assessed on the scene but was not transported.
Two of the hospitalized victims were a mom and child, whom Scoggins said were in good condition.
The crane appears to have fallen from a building that houses the Google Cloud offices. The building was also damaged during the collapse.
A Google spokeswoman told HuffPost that Vulcan, a real estate development company, is managing the work site.
“We were saddened to learn of today’s accident at South Lake Union. We share our deepest condolences with those who’ve been affected and thank all the first responders who quickly sprang into action,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “We are in communication with Vulcan who is managing the site and working with the local authorities on the ground.”
In a separate statement, Vulcan said that general contracting company GLY was working on the development project in South Lake Union.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families who have lost loved ones and our hope is that those who have been injured return to full health as soon as possible,” Vulcan said in a company statement posted to their site.
“Our general contractor, GLY, and its sub-contractors are fully cooperating with the authorities investigating this incident.”
This story been updated with statements from Google and Vulcan.
