Earlier this week the boom of a lattice crawler crane came down onto a passing train on the Shanghai Metro.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning, severely damaging the front of the train, and clipping several carriages, but thankfully no-one was injured or hurt, although it did cause severe delays on the line.
The scene on Sunday morning
It seems that the crane that lost its boom was lifting a concrete beam for a new line, in tandem with a larger crawler crane when a cable on the smaller crane broke, causing the boom and the load to drop, the beam came down into an area alongside the track, while the crane's boom dropped across the tracks hitting the front front of a rapidly approaching train. The video below shows the incident in a great deal more detail and includes commentary on what happened.
Passengers were evacuated from the train and had to walk alongside the track to the nearest station. The train service apologised for the delays caused by the incident and quickly organised a number of bus routes to move passengers around the closures.
China's Ministry of Emergency Management coordinated the rescue efforts and the investigation, stating: “We will determine the cause of the incident and punish those responsible.”
Worker Safety is important, Very important and much too important
to leave it to chance. Therefore the Dropped Boom Incident above had the
potential to Kill many people on that train and is number 1613 in my 18yrs
of Research into Crane and Lifting Incidents Worldwide with 901 Fatalities.
The Significant Findings element of this 2024 Worker Safety Report is
partially described below..….
a. Worldwide 121 x Lifting Incidents reported during 2024.
b. All of which involved 54 x Reported Fatalities in 2024.
c. Including but not limited to 47 x Dropped loads of Booms,
Jibs, Rigging, Hookblocks, Tower Sections & Ballast Blocks.
Of particular note are the following...
d. Large Capacity Crawler Crane of 1350 tonnes WLL tipped
FORWARD while lifting a Wind Turbine Blade in Denmark.
e. Innocent Man Killed by a Cranes Dropped Load which Broke a Steel pipe
containing Sodium Potassium which is Pyrophoric to cause a Big Fire.
f. WTG Lifts and Lifting near live Railway Tracks continues to be
inherently hazardous with 61 x incidents reported in the past 18 years.
So please start a Directors Safety Training programme ASAP
because if the CEO is not committed to Safety, no-one else will be.
As Safety starts in the Boardroom, long before it gets to the shopfloor
because Worker Safety is Important, Very important and much too important
to leave to chance.
o
Good Morning Mr Editor,
Worker Safety is important, Very important and much too important
to leave it to chance. Therefore the Dropped Boom Incident above had the
potential to Kill many people on that train and is number 1613 in my 18yrs
of Research into Crane and Lifting Incidents Worldwide with 901 Fatalities.
The Significant Findings element of this 2024 Worker Safety Report is
partially described below..….
a. Worldwide 121 x Lifting Incidents reported during 2024.
b. All of which involved 54 x Reported Fatalities in 2024.
c. Including but not limited to 47 x Dropped loads of Booms,
Jibs, Rigging, Hookblocks, Tower Sections & Ballast Blocks.
Of particular note are the following...
d. Large Capacity Crawler Crane of 1350 tonnes WLL tipped
FORWARD while lifting a Wind Turbine Blade in Denmark.
e. Innocent Man Killed by a Cranes Dropped Load which Broke a Steel pipe
containing Sodium Potassium which is Pyrophoric to cause a Big Fire.
f. WTG Lifts and Lifting near live Railway Tracks continues to be
inherently hazardous with 61 x incidents reported in the past 18 years.
So please start a Directors Safety Training programme ASAP
because if the CEO is not committed to Safety, no-one else will be.
As Safety starts in the Boardroom, long before it gets to the shopfloor
because Worker Safety is Important, Very important and much too important
to leave to chance.
Kindest Regards
Mike J. Ponsonby