Explosive experts say they are "extremely thankful" that no-one was hurt after an 83m tower they were demolishing collapsed in the wrong direction. The Mad River Power Plant tower in Springfield, Ohio, was intended to fall into a cleared area to its east.
Instead the tower fell south-east, knocking out two power lines and smashing another building that houses power generators, cutting electricity to 4000 homes in the city. Power plant staff, demolition crews and members of the media filming the event were forced to scatter as the live lines hit the ground around them.
The family that owned the demolition company had even brought their children to the site. "It just started leaning the other way and I thought, 'Holy cow' — It was terrifying for a little bit," local fire chief John Roeder said. Advanced Explosives Demolition president Lisa Kelly said an undetected crack on the tower caused it to fall backwards.
"Nobody's happy with things that go wrong in life, and sometimes it's out of our hands and beyond anybody's prediction," she said. The power outage knocked out nine traffic light intersections in the city, causing a minor crash, police said.
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