Crane Collapses into Tampa Bay Times’ Office Building During Hurricane Milton

A crane collapsed into a St. Petersburg, Florida, office building that is the home of the Tampa Bay Times and other businesses on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 9, as Hurricane Milton made landfall in the state. 

Per a news release from the City of St. Petersburg, there were no reported injuries from the incident that occurred at the 400 Central building construction site. The city also said that the area will be “blockaded off until further notice.”

In its story about the incident, the Tampa Bay Times said that no one was working inside the newsroom at the time of the collapse amid Milton's heavy winds.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Oct. 10, Conan Gallaty, the chairman and CEO of Times Publishing Company, the newspaper's parent company, wrote: “The building that houses the Tampa Bay Times St. Petersburg headquarters sustained damage during Hurricane Milton. We are working with the building owners to get a sense of the damages. What's most important is that none of our employees were in the building when the crane fell, and everyone is safe. Our vital local reporting continues.”

The Times also said in its report that a 46-foot skyscraper was being built across from the building.

John Catsimatidis, the CEO of Red Apple Group, whose company is involved in the development of the skyscraper, said, per the Times: “We can confirm one crane cab in the upper section of the mast has fallen. We are working with city officials and others to assess the situation.”

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In an X (formerly Twitter) post, storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski shared footage of the scene following the crane collapse, writing: “This is the construction crane that collapsed and fell into the Tampa Bay Times building. The damage to the building is catastrophic collapsing multiply floors. The water lines broke flooding the building.”

Tampa Bay Times climate and environment reporter Max Chesnes posted photos on X of the scene the morning after, showing the crane nestled against the office building that appeared to suffer extensive damage at its top portion. 

“I didn’t think it would take down a crane,” Joe Lindquist, a St. Petersburg resident, said of Hurricane Milton, per the Times. 

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s western coast as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, Oct. 9, after it passed through the Gulf of Mexico. As of Oct. 10, there have been at least four storm-related deaths reported so far.

During an Oct. 10 press briefing, Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis said that 48 people have been rescued via state search and rescue teams as of 6:30 a.m. local time.

According to PowerOutage.us, there are currently 3.4 million Florida customers without electricity. 

In another news release issued on Oct. 10, the City of St. Petersburg said that its crews were assessing the damage following the hurricane and urged residents to avoid the roads “until public safety officials deem it safe.”