CAMDEN COUNTY -- A television tower under construction in Camden County toppled during Friday's strong winds because concrete anchors were not large enough, according to the station's president.
"Things that were supposed to stay in place didn't," said Glenn Holterhaus, president of Sky Television, parent company of WSKY-TV Channel 4.
Standing 760 feet tall, the unfinished tower toppled and crushed a new transmitter building Friday morning after winds suddenly gusted to about 40 mph. Concrete anchors in the ground intended to stabilize the tower were not large enough and gave way, he said.
The two-year long project was three weeks from completion. Located about one mile south of the Virginia line, the tower was to reach up to 1,036 feet and replace an analog signal tower in Powells Point with a stronger digital signal, Holterhaus said.
Based in Chesapeake, WSKY broadcasts to South Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina.
The station remains on air through cable and satellite television.