UPDATED, Aug. 5, 8:20 p.m.: A bundle of rebar collapsed at a construction site Wednesday near Brickell City Centre, trapping six workers who were eventually freed and sent to the hospital in serious or critical condition.
The accident occurred before 11:30 a.m. at the site of 830 Brickell, where developers OKO Group and Cain International are building a 57-story, 724-foot-tall tower at 888 Southeast Brickell Plaza in Miami. Civic Construction is the contractor.
The rebar fell onto the construction floor and landed on top of the workers, said Lieutenant Pete Sanchez of Miami Fire Rescue. All six were taken to Ryder Trauma Center, and one worker was possibly impaled by a piece of rebar, he said. Because on-the-ground access to the site was limited, Miami Fire Rescue freed the workers using aerial ladders and stokes baskets.
“The safety of our workers and contractors is always our highest priority, and we are cooperating with the building department and OSHA in an internal investigation to determine the cause of today’s incident, and to prevent it from occurring again,” according to a statement from Civic Construction, which included that the workers are “reported to be stable and receiving care for their injuries.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is expected to investigate the accident.
Workers completed the building’s foundation in late June after a 16-hour pour that involved 4,000 cubic yards of concrete, a spokesperson said at the time.
The building is designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the same architecture firm that designed the Jeddah Tower and the Burj Khalifa.
Billionaire Vladislav Doronin’s OKO is partnering with Cain International to develop the office tower, where WeWork is expected to be an anchor tenant. MSD Partners, the private investment firm of Dell Technologies billionaire Michael Dell, provided a $300 million construction loan for the project last year.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Write to Katherine Kallergis at kk@therealdeal.com