15.04.2016
Fatal gantry crane collapse
A gantry crane collapsed onto a construction worker’s accommodation in the town of Dongguan, Guangdong province, China on Wednesday resulting in as many as 18 fatalities, while 33 others were injured- four of which are said to be in critical, but stable condition.
The large gantry crane reportedly went over in 100kph winds, and landed on a temporary hotel for those employed on the site. The building houses 139 people in total, 88 of whom managed to escape.
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The gantry crane blew over onto the site accommodation building
A spokesperson for the rescue team said: "We have assigned personnel to cope with the aftermath of the accident and to comfort the relatives of the dead and injured one by one. The company which takes responsibility for the construction work has allocated a special fund of 20 million yuan ($3.1 million ) to deal with the issue. We will do our best to make sure that the injured acquire medical treatment and to solve relevant difficulties."
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The crane caused significant devastation
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The recovery team prepare to remove the fallen gantry
Mike74
No mystery in this one I'd say - the gantry must have been left unanhored properly, and got pushed by the wind untill it built up enough speed to either smash the end-rail fenders off, or be thrown over them. Or, perhaps, there were NO fenders at all. I know, I know - who would allow no fenders at the end of rails you'd say. Well, over they years I've seen this and that and back in the days enough of the travelling bottom-slewing cranes went down in similar circumstances in my city to fill a better part of the evening with stories about that...