A giant crane was blown over by powerful winds before it crashed onto a row of homes, leaving residents lucky to escape with their lives.
Footage shows the towering structure slowly toppling onto a half-built building, causing severe damage before the crane buckled in half.
The long boom then came crashing down onto a row of houses opposite, narrowly missing passing cars and sending a cloud of dust into the air.
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The collapse happened yesterday (16 July) afternoon, damaging six homes and two vehicles.
Emergency crews were immediately dispatched to the scene in Coquimbo, Chile.
Authorities believe the crane was brought down by the strong winds sweeping through the area at the time.
Coquimbo mayor and former footballer Alí Manouchehri confirmed there were no fatalities.
He told local media: “These are not situations we are accustomed to dealing with here.
“We had never faced wind gusts of this intensity before, but an investigation is needed to establish whether any preventative measures could have been taken, as we had indicated in the days beforehand.”
A 13-year-old girl was inside a bedroom in one of the affected homes when the crane came down.
She was left in shock, covered in dust, and treated at the scene, as reported by Need To Know.
Her uncle, Sebastián Pérez, told local media: “Thankfully, nothing happened to her. She has a small injury to her leg, but imagine what could have happened.
“If she had been in bed, pieces of concrete, wood and those sharp edges would have fallen on her – we would have been telling a very different story.”
Another relative said: “We knew there would be wind and rainfall, but we never imagined something like this could happen.
“It was as if a bomb had fallen on the house.”
The incident left their home uninhabitable and destroyed their car. The family is now staying elsewhere while repairs are carried out.
Technical teams have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Authorities said the construction company will be responsible for covering the damage.
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