An iconic newspaper building saw as "smoke billowed out" after a fell into the Tempa Bay Times following.
Langston Taylor, a data editor at the newspaper, revealed staff were working through the night covering the hurricane when the huge crane fell into the office.
He wrote: "Tampa Bay Times staff working through the night covering Hurricane Milton from all our safe houses are now facing the fact that, uh, that big ole crane in Downtown St. Pete fell into our office building."
The crane was at the site of a 515-foot-tall luxury high-rise building under construction that is being billed as one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of Florida. It was scheduled to be completed in summer 2025.
Staff member Ian Hodgson said the crane has taken out the "top five stories." Writing on X, he said: "The crare that topped onto the Tampa Bay Times office appears to have taken out most of the top five stories. This is by far the worst damage we've seen so far."
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Reporter Max Chesnes was left "speechless" after the crane fell into the entrance of the building, blocking the road. "Speechless. We are at the entrance to our Tampa Bay Times office in downtown St. Petersburg. A crane is blocking the road, and several stories up, smoke billows out of the building from where it appears the crane fell Smell of gas in the air and you can hear alarms", he wrote on X.
St Petersburg Fire Rescue issued a statement saying the crane collapse and roof damage at Tropicana Field were among two critical reports it had received of damage after Hurricane Milton made landfall south of the city. There were no reports of any injuries.
Mayor Ken Welch admitted earlier this week he was concerned how the tower cranes would be affected during Hurricane Milton. He said it takes specialised crews roughly a week of planning to remove and disassemble the cranes as they are fixed in place.
Although many staff were in touch with developers who are managing the cranes, due to how long it takes and the impending Hurricane Milton, it was not feasible to lower or secure the tower crane in advance of the hurricane.
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