28.06.2011

Crane operator dies at Olympic village

A tower crane operator died yesterday at London’s Olympic Village site in Stamford while climbing down from his cab.

The man, said to be 65, was discovered in the tower of his crane, some feedback from the site suggests that he might have slipped and fallen. On the other hand it is entirely possible that his death was caused by an unrelated medical condition. Apart from confirming the incident there has been no formal announcement from the site of what happened.

The incident occurred as the city was being hit by torrential rain and extreme lightning. An ambulance services statement said that the cause of death was cardiac arrest. The statement added: "Sadly, despite extensive efforts to resuscitate him, the patient was pronounced dead at the scene by the air ambulance doctor."

The death is the first on what is the largest construction site in Europe with over 12,000 employees. Earlier this month the Olympic Delivery Authority chalked up 3 million working hours without a serious injury.
The Health and Safety Executive was in the process of sending inspectors to the site yesterday evening to assist the police with its investigation.
Please register to see all images

The Olympic Village

UPDATE

The cause of the mans death has now been ruled as due to a heart attack and not specifically job related.