Crane collapse at iconic Florida building amid Hurricane Milton's fury

As Hurricane Milton lashes Florida, a crane has toppled in downtown St. Petersburg causing severe damage to the Tampa Bay Times building and sparking power outages.

A video shared on social media by a user shows disaster wrought by Hurricane Milton with the message: "Crane fell and crashed into the Tampa Bay Times building 3 blocks from where I live in Downtown St. Pete. Hurricane Milton really came and did some damage."

The video footage reveals the wreckage of the crane amid the wider destruction, with extreme weather causing blackouts and reported fatalities across the state.

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While emergency services brace against the full force of Hurricane Milton, officials have warned residents that help is not immediately forthcoming in the face of the relentless storm.

Despite the dramatic collapse near the heart of St. Petersburg, miraculously no injuries have been reported due to the crane incident.

The fallen machinery was intended for use in the construction of a 515-foot-tall high-end tower, touted to be one of Florida's tallest buildings upon its planned completion in summer 2025.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue has alerted the community about the significant issues arising from the hurricane, notably the crane's fall and substantial roof damage at Tropicana Field amidst other critical reports of destruction following Milton's potent landfall near the city.

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The location of the calamity lies a short distance from St. Petersburg's pier and is considerably north of Siesta Key, where the hurricane forcefully arrived onshore.

Also suffering from Milton's wrath, Tropicana Fieldhome to the Tampa Bay Rayshas seen better days before the hurricane's brutal visitation.

Tropicana Field has become another victim of Hurricane Milton, its roof shredded dramatically. The extent of the internal damage is still unknown.

Whilst not being utilised as a refuge, Tampa Bay Times noted that Tropicana Field was serving as "a staging site for workers" dealing with the storm fallout.

1990 marked the opening of the $138 million stadium, due to be replaced by a new $1.3 billion ballpark by 2028's season opener.

With energy providers catering to more than 11.5 million accounts in Florida , outage numbers are surging as hurricane-related tornadoes, winds, and floods wreak havoc.

Hardee County nearly lost complete power, while Sarasota, Manatee, and Pinellas counties faced significant power disruptions.

As we report the latest developments, photos, and video on this urgent news story, stay tuned.

Even before Milton hit the Gulf Coast on Wednesday evening, tornadoes began to scar Florida. Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce was devastated, homes ruined and lives tragically lost.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed to WPBF News that there have been fatalities, stating, "We have lost some life," but did not provide a specific number.

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