CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Fans at Whataburger Field were shocked Saturday night after they heard a loud noise and then saw a ball of fire on a nearby crane that's being used on the Harbor Bridge Project.
3NEWS talked to one eyewitness who was sitting very close to a Hooks fan who was hurt by possible shrapnel from the crane incident while watching the game at Whataburger Field.
"I saw a lady pushing a stroller. She got hit by something and just collapsed. She hadn't gotten up," Andrew Neystel said.
After she collapsed -- multiple people came to her side to see if she was ok, Neystel said.
Neystel and the woman were in the same section when the crane caught fire.
"I think it was probably like third inning and I was in section 111, which is like right under the crane kind of by third base. And pretty much, I think it sounded like a jet engine. It was just like a whoosh sound and then like a boom!" he said.
He said he instantly started to panic.
"I turned around and I looked straight up at it. And then it kind of exploded out. A big fireball and up. And then you kind of saw like gas, or some kind of air release. And first off, I grabbed the girl I was with and I said 'we got to go,'" he said.
The Corpus Christi Hooks said in a statement that they are committed to "ensuring our fans continue to enjoy our games safely."
"The Hooks will continue working with the authorities to support their efforts as they ensure proper safety measures are in place for properties surrounding our ballpark," the statement said.
New Harbor Bridge Developer Flatiron Dragados told 3NEWS that they are working with multiple agencies to determine what happened.
Corpus Christi Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank Solosky said that the incident was caused by a cable failure on the crane that caused grease in the crane's drum to catch on fire.
"And so there was a small fire that caused the cable to fail and perhaps send shrapnel into the adjacent facility," he said.
Solosky told 3NEWS that his department did get one report of someone being hurt.
"We did have a report of one injury. One person was transported," he said.
Emergency crews told 3NEWS that they believe the woman will be ok. They did not describe her injuries, but said they are non life threatening.
The Hooks temporarily evacuated fans from the section where the woman was hit -- but the game restarted a short time later.
The Texas Department of Transportation said they are working with Flatiron Dragados to prevent situations like this from happening again.
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