Demolition Gone Wrong: Part of Brickell building collapses into street
A building demolition in the heart of Brickell took a turn for the worse after a piece of the structure feel into the street Saturday, authorities said. All construction work was halted as officials try to get to the bottom of what could have been a deadly accident.
Alpha Wrecking Group appeared to be on-site at 700 SE 7th St. doing what they had a permit to do — tear down the existing structure to make way for the proposed 80-story skyscraper, One Brickell Centre, social media video and city records show.
In a video widely shared by OnlyInDade, an Alpha Wrecking Group excavator can be seen trying to remove a building piece that comes loose and crashes into the street below. A car drove past the impact spot just moments before.
Alpha Wrecking Group could not be reached for comment.
The City of Miami’s Building Department is well aware of the situation and leaped into action shortly after the accident, they commented on OnlyInDade’s Instagram post.
“We immediately deployed Building Inspectors to the site, red-tagged the site and stopped all demolition activities,” the city said.
An emergency meeting is being held Monday with the demolition contractor and owner, who they did not name, to discuss safety measures.
“Demolition activities will not be allowed to resume until we fully understand what transpired, what safety measures were overlooked that led to the incident and what polices, site conditions, and activities will be amended to ensure this does not occur again,” the city said.
The Florida Department of Transportation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were notified as well.
No injuries were reported, Miami police said, and the debris was safely removed. Officers are blocking Brickell Avenue through South Miami Avenue and 7th Street.
