The Blade/Lori King
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ADRIAN -- A 38-year-old man was injured today when an oil-drilling derrick in the Adrian's Heritage Park partially collapsed, authorities said.
The victim, whose name had not been released by nightfall, was air-lifted to University of Toledo Medical Center -- the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital -- said Raisin Township Fire Chief Richard Renard. The accident was reported at 10:58 a.m., Friday.
According to Chief Renard said the man fell about 15 to 20 feet from a scaffold when the derrick partially collapsed about 10:58 a.m. this morning. The structure was about 75 feet tall.
"The victim was wearing a safety harness, which kept him from hitting the ground," Chief Renard said. "His co-workers brought him down to level ground before we arrived."
Gusty winds buffeted southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio today, but Chief Renard declined to speculate on whether wind played a role in the drilling rig's collapse. Investigators from Michigan's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will visit the site next week, the chief said.