Three Tall-Tower Workers Killed in Florida

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Three tower workers fell to their death Wednesday (Sept. 27) while working on a tower shared by WSVN and WPLG Miami, according to WSVN.

The station said it had hired Tower King II out of Texas to work on the tower. The three men reportedly fell from the top of the tower some 1,000 feet above the ground. WSVN tweeted the news.

#BREAKING: 3 dead after falling from television tower in Miami Gardenshttps://t.co/l6lEHMmi0jpic.twitter.com/UUA38nznNA

— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) September 27, 2017

The head of the station pointed out that the tower work had been required by the government.

“We are saddened by this tragic event," said WSVN-TV President Edmund Ansin. "Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of the three men who died. They worked for a company hired by Channel 7 to perform work on the tower that was required by the [Federal Communications Commission].”

Related: Tower Guy TellsHill RepackShouldNotBeRushed

Tower safety is a big issue these days as close to 1,000 broadcasters prepare to move channels or share channels or otherwise require tower and facilities work.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.