18.12.2012

Boom overhang rips minibus roof off

A full mini bus struck the overhanging boom of a Rough Terrain crane that was reversing into a side street in Thailand this morning but thankfully and amazingly, no one was seriously hurt although they were taken to hospital with cuts and bruises.
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The minibus hit the block and the nose then ripped the roof off

The incident occurred in Chalong, to the south west of Phuket, the mini bus was one of the many used as a tour bus and was full of overseas tourists - mostly Russian. The bus must have struck the crane’s hook block and its roof then caught on the boom nose of the Tadano crane, the boom of which been left stowed so that it projected over the road by around a metre.

Before the bus driver was able to bring the vehicle to a stop the boom nose had ripped the roof off his bus.
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The tourist group had a lucky escape

Vertikal Comment

While this story almost has a comical side to it, thanks largely to the fact that no one was seriously hurt, it could have been so different. The crane operator, was clearly at fault and should never have left the boom dangling over the road.

The bus driver must also bear some blame of course for not watching where he was going although that is very much secondary to the crane’s owners and operator. The tourists will clearly have an adventure story to tell when they get home, but they are so lucky not to be lying in a mortuary at this point along with others that could have been involved had the swerved out of control after hitting the crane.