1 dead, 6 hurt as strong winds cause crane to collapse into Dallas building

A construction crane buffeted by high winds collapsed on a Dallas apartment building Sunday afternoon, killing one woman in the building and injuring at least six more people, two of them critically, a fire official said.

The strong winds blew the crane into the Elan City Lights building on Live Oak Street just before 2 p.m.

Rescue crews searching the building found the body of a woman inside after the crane collapsed, ripping a large gash into the side of the structure, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said during a press briefing.

Two of the injured were in critical condition, three in serious condition and one person with minor injuries was already released from the hospital, Evans said.

“This is a really challenging situation in the sense that I cannot personally recall that we’ve had a crane collapse that involved an already inhabited building,” Evans said.

The downed crane ripped a large hole in the side of the building. It also damaged an adjacent parking garage and some of the vehicles in it.

“The building itself has suffered multiple collapses in different areas of the building to include residential spaces and the parking garage,” Evans said.