30.08.2010

Another metro crane accident in India

A tractor crane working on the Bangalore Metro site in India, tipped over yesterday, narrowly missing a fully loaded car.

The car was taking a Mr Chandrashekhar and 10 members of his family to a religious ceremony when the crane’s boom came down right in front of the passing car, while the hoist cables struck the vehicle’s windscreen.

Amazingly no one was hurt and the car was only moderately damaged.
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The driver stands beside his car following his lucky escape

The 12 tonne Hydra crane built by ACE, reportedly lifting a two tonne concrete pile, when the ground under its front wheels subsided causing it to tip over sideways with the three section boom dropping across the busy road.

Officials from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation immediately blamed the incident on operator negligence and the fact that heavy rains had made the ground soft.

Ram Tekker, chief engineer on the project said: “The hydra was lifting cement pile. The workers had not fixed the jack properly. The soil was loose as it had rained. The hydra turned to its left and fell on the road seconds after it started lifting a cement pile.”

“Usually, the hydra can lift weight up to 12 tonnes, but it turned turtle while lifting a cement pile of just two tonnes.”

Vertikal Comment

The crane safety record on India’s massive Metro building programme is appalling and one of the worst in the world. Every time a crane goes over there is a good deal of finger pointing with blame seeming to be loaded onto the lowest level employee possible, and yet nothing seems to change.

This accident could have resulted in at least 10 fatalities had the car been travelling a fraction faster. Yet it was totally avoidable it was clear that the ground was soft, and in such conditions a simple pick & carry crane like this is more likely to tip over than remain upright once its boom is extended and lifting.

The real cause here is a total lack of any lift planning or risk assessment, while a fully trained operator should have said ‘No’ it is wrong to lay all of the blame at his door.

The following are links to just some of the reports we have carried in the past 12 months.
More accidents on the Delhi Metro
Cranee tips in India
Crane drops load on Indian metro site
Another fatality on Delhi Metro
Blame gets passed around on Delhi crane accident
Three big cranes go over