The dead man has not been named.
UK newspaper The Sun said that crane operator Barry Walker was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The crane that came down was a Jaso J138 tower crane from Falcon Crane Hire, according to a Cranes Today source. The J138 PA has maximum jib reach of 45m and models SR1-SR2 can lift 2.25t at jib-end. A Falcon Crane Hire spokeswoman had no comment when contacted on Tuesday morning.
HTC tower cranes working on several sites in Liverpool were shut down on Monday because winds exceeded the firm’s maximum in-service windspeed of 56 km/hr (35mph), according to another Cranes Today source who did not wish to be named.
Lead contractor David McLean was due to complete the £14m, 105-apartment Elysian Fields complex by mid-2007 for developer Iliad. The site had only one tower crane.
Mike Wickham, managing director of David McLean, said in a statement:
“Following a serious incident at the Elysian Fields’ site in Liverpool, two men have been injured, one fatally. David McLean Contractors is fully co-operating with the Police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE), whilst they carry out their enquiries. As a result, we are currently restricted from commenting further. However, our sincere sympathies are with both families.”
The incident comes only a week after an open meeting of the UK’s Construction Plant-Hire Association Tower Crane Interest Group. Head of the group, and Arcomet UK sales director, Paul Phillips said: “I’m extremely disappointed to hear that yet another accident has occurred. We are trying to raise the image of the tower crane industry in the UK. Incidents like this one are tragic, and I feel sorry for the people caught up in the aftermath, particularly the family of the man killed.” He added: “We need to get to the bottom of this, learn any lessons and communicate them to the industry.”
Falcon Crane Hire supplied a crane that fell over in Battersea, London, in September, killing two.
