08.12.2010

Crawler crane fatality

A crane has fallen into a drainage channel in Cambridgeshire, UK today killing the operator.

The accident happened on a riverside track off the A142 at Mepal, halfway between Ely and Chatteris. The crane a small crawler crane with dredging bucket, tipped into the water when it slipped off of the icy timber mats/track it was working from, after the bucket caught on something in the water..
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The crane slipped into the freezing water

The emergency services arrived less than 20 minutes after the accident occurred and used an inflatable boat to reach the crane’s cab. They broke the glass of the cab, allowing the operator's head and shoulders to be pulled out of the water, but his leg was caught on something, preventing them from removing him to safety. He never regained conciousness and was formally declared dead two hours later.

The man, later named as Simon Wenn, 43, was working for the Environment Agency which confirmed that he was an employee who had been cleaning the Counter Drain, at Mepal. He had been on site for around three weeks.