Company says crane hit garage that collapsed

DORAL, Fla. (WSVN) -- Officials with the company working on the construction of a garage that collapsed on a college campus have revealed that a crane happened to have struck the structure before the fatal collapse but are stopping short of connecting the two events.

These new details were revealed at a press conference at around 11 a.m. Friday by a spokesperson for Ajax Building Corporation, the company doing the construction on the five-story parking deck. The deadly parking garage collapse killed four men on Wednesday morning.

Miami-Dade Police still have not recovered the body of the fourth person. However, they said, this last victim was located under the rubble, Friday morning. They are still working on the complex process of extracting the body.

The company, meanwhile, is waiting for the recovery effort to conclude before finalizing the investigation. At the press conference Friday, speaking for Ajax, Bill Byrne said, "Today, even as recovery efforts continue, we will also focus on the cause of this tragic event. Only after fire rescue and police authorities turn over the site to OSHA will this investigation be able to begin."

Ajax said an employee bumped a column with a crane prior to the collapse, but they do not believe that caused the deck to fall. "It didn't cause any damage to the column," Byrne said. "The crane was repaired and inspected, and was re-certified."

The death toll still stands at three until the fourth victim is recovered. The family of that man, meanwhile, expressed their dissatisfaction with the effort to find their loved one. Tasha Bagwandeen, the missing man's daughter, said "We need them to get him out."

Patsy Bagwandeen, the missing man's sister, said, "It's three days now, how much longer are we going to wait? We need some answers, we need something to be done."

Classes remain affected by this situation. The college has announced evening and weekend classes at the West Campus will be shifted, beginning on Oct. 15, to Ronald Reagan Sr. High School in Doral. That same day, daytime classes be moved to the North Campus.

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