Crewe crane collapse kills two

(Courtesy of BBC Radio Stoke)

The crane was working on the site of a two-storey care home being built by construction company Seddon. Seddon has confirmed the crane was being erected.

One eyewitness, speaking to BBC local radio in Stoke and identified only as Jason, said  the crane had been lifting and then, “they finished the work, the crane positioned itself facing Bombardier [a nearby train factory].

"The guys finished their work and they were still up there when all of a sudden, it slowly just started to tilt, tilt, tilt.

"Guys started shouting and it completely fell on the floor."

Photos from the scene supplied to Cranes Today by BBC Stoke Radio show the tower crane laying over a mobile crane from John Sutch.  The photos appear to show that the tower crane was mounted on a cross-shaped undercarriage held in place by concrete ballast.  Photos in the Twitter feed of ITV journalist Ashley Derricott appear to show the concrete foundations on which the crane was standing, with no immediately obvious damage to these.

The BBC photos show apparent damage to the stowed lattice jib on the John Sutch crane, perhaps indicating it was hit by the tower crane, before coming to rest on the back of the superstructure. Derricot’s photos show the tower crane's jib extending out of the construction site, into a nearby home.

An incident report released by Cheshire Fire and Rescue service says that two men were killed.  The report says, “Fire crews released one casualty, a man believed to be the crane driver, and he was taken to hospital via air ambulance.” It is unclear if this was the mobile crane operator or tower crane operator.

The incident report adds: “The crane which collapsed had trapped two other people underneath. Cheshire firefighters worked alongside colleagues from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team to release two people trapped after the crane collapsed.

“Sadly two men have died as a result of the incident. Another man was taken to the Royal Stoke Hospital with serious injuries but these are believed to not be life threatening.”  Again, it is unclear if the two men who died were the same two trapped under the crane, or if the man seriously injured was the operator of one of the cranes, or someone else.

John Sutch MD designate Hayley Sutch said, “John Sutch Cranes were involved in an incident yesterday evening, on site in Crewe. An independent tower crane collapsed onto our crane, the cause of the collapse is still unknown. Our deepest thoughts and sympathy go out to the families at this tragic time. Please be assured that we are assisting the HSE and other authorities with their investigations.”

Jonathan Seddon, chief executive of Seddon, said, “There was an incident yesterday at our construction site on Dunwoody Way, in Crewe. I'm deeply saddened to say that following the incident involving the erection of a crane two people working on site have lost their lives, while a third remains injured in hospital. The crane also struck an adjacent house, the occupants were taken to hospital and have since been discharged.

“On behalf of everyone at Seddon I'd like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of those who so tragically lost their lives yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved, and words cannot express how we feel.

“At this time I cannot speculate as to the cause of this incident, but needless to say there will be a full investigation and Seddon is working closely with the emergency services and Health and Safety Executive.”

(Courtesy of BBC Radio Stoke)