A tower crane fell from the roof of a Seattle building on Saturday, landing on six cars and killing four people, including two workers who were in the crane. Four other people were reportedly injured, none of whom suffered life-threatening injuries.
The crane was on top of a South Lake Union building and was involved in construction with Seattle's new Google campus.
Washington state's Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the cause of the accident, though several witnesses and the National Weather Service reported a storm squall with high-powered winds moving through the area at the time. One witness called the scene "terrifying," while another described the crash as sounding like thunder.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The incident was the first fatal tower crane collapse in the Seattle area in more than a dozen years. It occurred during what The Seattle Times writes is a period of remarkable growth for the city, which has seen a heavy amount of construction as a result.
Read more at The Seattle Times.
-
August 16 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include football season anticipation, and Donald Trump angling for Putin's autograph
-
5 hilariously cold cartoons about the Alaska summitCartoons Artists take on the Alaskan totem pole, a peace flag, and more
-
Sudoku medium: August 16, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Border agents crash Newsom redistricting kickoffSpeed Read Armed federal Border Patrol agents amassed outside the venue where the California governor and other Democratic leaders were gathered
-
Man charged for hoagie attack as DC fights takeoverSpeed Read The Trump administration filed felony charges against a man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent
-
Trump BLS nominee floats ending key jobs reportSpeed Read On Fox News, E.J. Antoni suggested scrapping the closely watched monthly jobs report
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLSspeed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National GuardSpeed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
The push for a progressive mayor has arrived in SeattleThe Explainer Two liberals will face off in this November's election
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
