See ‘the famous hug’ after firefighter pulls man from construction-rig collapse

Miami Fire Rescue shared a video Wednesday of “the famous hug that went viral,” showing a man embracing a firefighter after he was rescued from the collapse of an 85-foot construction drilling rig.

Read more See ‘the famous hug’ after firefighter pulls man from construction-rig collapse

The man can be seen embracing firefighter Mike Santos on Monday after the rig collapsed onto several cars in the Brickell area, Miami Fire Rescue said in a post on X. Crews “captured it as it happened right there on the ground.”

The incident happened at 1201 Brickell Bay Dr., where construction on a new global headquarters for the hedge fund Citadel began this year. Crews used hydraulic cutting tools to free two trapped workers after the collapse.

Three construction workers were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and were in stable condition. A driver who was caught in the collapse was taken to HCA Florida Mercy Hospital and was also in stable condition.

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No additional information was available Wednesday about the incident, Lt. Pete Sanchez, a Miami Fire Rescue spokesman, said. The case was handed over to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Miami-Dade County.

Miami Herald Staff Writers David Goodhue and Catherine Odom contributed to this report.

Read more See ‘the famous hug’ after firefighter pulls man from construction-rig collapse