FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Workers are back on scene under I-95 in Fort Lauderdale after the collapse of a large scaffolding Monday.
One construction worker was buried under collapsed scaffolding and three others were left dangling nearly 80 feet off the ground, fire officials said.
Two workers were rescued immediately, but one man, Rafael Moreno, was left hanging onto cables for two hours before help came.
"The cables just snapped, three of us were hanging and I see my buddy falling," said Rafael Moreno, rescued worker. "I just wanted to get down, it was scary."
A Fort Lauderdale firefighter was able to get to Moreno after he hung for one hour and 45 minutes. Firefighters above on a catwalk were waiting to pull the two down to safety. The worker and firefighter were eventually brought to the ground safely.
"Had to build a system to stabilize him so he doesn't go," said James Chioffe, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.
Moreno said he was thinking about his mom and his siblings while he wanted to be rescued.
The incident happened underneath I-95, just south of Davie Boulevard on Monday. The men were working to restore the underpass underneath I-95 when the scaffolding gave way.
"We were working on our boats when we heard a pop," said witness Dan Carrara. "We heard the guy screaming, looked over and saw the scaffolding flip."
Moreno said the construction company he works for, VNM Erectors, based in Pembroke Pines, has been working on the I-95 bridge for about five months, and that there were no problems until Monday.
All four were taken to Broward Health Medical Center as a precaution.
Investigators plan to sort through the debris to find out what went wrong, but so far the cause of the incident has not been determined.
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