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VIDEO: Second construction accident at St. Pete police headquarters sends workers running

For the second time in just over a month, a construction mishap at the site of the new St. Petersburg police headquarters left workers running for their lives.
Credit: Beau Zimmer
The concrete panels like the one that fell can weigh up to 70,000 pounds.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the second time in just over a month, a construction mishap at the site of the new St. Petersburg police headquarters left workers running for their lives.

The latest incident took place Monday afternoon when a massive cement panel came crashing down to the ground after breaking loose from a crane lifting it into place.

Video of the incident was captured by a St. Petersburg police tower camera documenting the

construction process.

The panel can be seen falling as workers run out of the way.

Supervisors with Ajax Building Corp., the company building the new police headquarters, say the cement panels can weigh anywhere between 40,000 to 70,000 pounds.

This week’s incident follows a second close call that happened in early April when a construction crane tipped over, coming dangerously close to crushing workers below. In that case, supervisors blamed the accident on the crane operator who may have improperly picked up a scissor lift, causing the crane to lose balance.

Bill Byrne, president of Ajax Building, tells 10News it appears Monday’s incident was caused by a defect in the cement panel, causing a steel insert to sheer as the massive panel was being lifted.

Representatives from the company that manufactured the panel will arrive Thursday to inspect the damaged panel to determine what went wrong.

No one was injured in either of the two incidents.

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