Workers Escape Injury After Platform Collapses 10-15 Stories Above Ground

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 19, 2017 5:29PM

At least two men were working on a platform that was suspended multiple stories off the ground when the scaffolding broke, but the workers nevertheless were able to avoid injury, according to Chicago police.

The scaffolding was about 15 floors up when it broke at around 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning in the 500 block of North Michigan, a police spokesperson told Chicagoist. DNAinfo reports that the scaffolding was seen about 10 stories up.

Police said that two men were on the platform when the right side fell off. But fire officials told NBC5 there was also a third man, who was able to climb to a nearby scaffolding before fire crews rescued the other two workers.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told Chicagoist that two men were brought in through a window in the rescue mission.

Fire crews were on the scene as of noon, police said. Traffic on Michigan Avenue was shut down from the Tribune Tower to Ontario, according to WGN, which captured video of the dangling scaffolding. DNA Info reports that traffic was opened back up after about an hour.

This post has been updated.