Three Workers Killed In Construction Collapse

Bal Harbour: fancy hotels, high end shopping and death:

Three die in Bal Harbour construction accident

BY DAVID OVALLE, CHARLES RABIN AND MARTIN MERZER

Three workers were killed Saturday when the roof of a condominium under construction in Bal Harbour partially collapsed and buried them in drying concrete that ultimately crushed them, authorities said.

Hours after the accident, workers tethered above the victims swung pick axes to hammer away at three-foot-deep concrete so they could extricate the bodies from the 26-story construction site at 10295 Collins Ave., just south of Haulover Inlet.

''These people were basically buried alive in concrete,'' said Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Lt. Eric Baum.

A fourth victim was hospitalized, apparently with a heart problem.

''The sad part is I could hear men crying for help,'' said Dana Phillips, 66, who lives in a complex across the street and was on her balcony when a loud sound and billowing cloud of dust startled her shortly before 10 a.m. "t was an excessive big boom.''