No one was hurt after a hydraulic crane tipped over on a construction site in Nanaimo’s north end.
The incident happened Wednesday morning at the corner of Uplands Drive and Turner Road, where a 12,139-square-metre commercial centre is being built. The hydraulic crane remained tipped over, with the boom laying on the ground, well into the early afternoon.
Cliff Thompson, project manger with Windley Contracting, the construction company hired to build the centre, told the News Bulletin that no one was hurt when the incident happened around 9 a.m., adding that WorkSafe B.C. has since visited the site.
“It’s not something you want to see happen,” Thompson said. “It’s really unfortunate.”
Thompson said the individual operating the crane had decades of experience operating cranes and simply made a mistake.
“He wasn’t lifting anything. He was just swinging around. He reached out too far,” he said.
Construction workers spent the early afternoon preparing to lift the fallen crane back into its normal position. Thompson said the crane isn’t damaged too badly, but added that it is a delicate operation to lift the crane back into place.
“That’s why they are taking so much care to get it down,” he said. “It’s got to be eased over. If they just let it drop in place then the boom might flop up and it could get damaged more.”
Once completed, the construction site is slated to be the new home for Dodd’s Furniture and La-Z-Boy.
Gillian Burnett, media relations officer with WorkSafe B.C., confirmed that WorkSafe did visit the site and that there were no injuries. Although Burnett said she couldn’t comment any further on the incident, she said WorkSafe should be releasing an inspection report later this week.
Left the scene of the fallen construction crane. Crews were working to return it to its normal position when I left. Here are some photos I took of the crane. pic.twitter.com/nhr30wNF9u
— Nicholas M Pescod (@npescod) May 23, 2018
nicholas.pescod@nanaimobulletin.com
