September 1, 2010

Crane accident kills worker at construction site in Burnaby, British Columbia

WorkSafe BC is investigating the cause of an Aug. 27 crane accident that killed a 55 year-old man and injured another at a housing construction site in Burnaby, B.C.

“A crane truck was delivering framing materials and structural steel beams and columns,” said Donna Freeman of WorkSafeBC.

“The crane operator was trying to lower one of the steel beams onto a steel column on the house under construction. The lower part of the crane failed and fell. It pinned two workers.

“One of the workers died and one suffered injuries that were not life threatening,” she said.

Of the two workers pinned by the crane, one was found breathing but unresponsive near the end of the crane. The other worker was hospitalized. The crane operator was shaken, but sustained only minor injuries.

The crane was dismantled and removed to another location on Aug. 28.

“Worksafe engineers and investigators will get a close look at the crane at this location,” Freeman said. “The owner has been instructed to bring in an independent engineer to look at the remaining situation with the structure of the house before investigators or anybody else can enter.”

-Richard Gilbert, Journal of Commerce

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