27.01.2014
Heavy winds hit cranes in Belgium
A heavy storm in northern Belgium on Saturday took down two tower cranes at the site of a new hospital in Oekene, Roselare.
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The scene yesterday
The foundations/base of the cranes, which appear to be traditional Liebherr top slewers, look to have been the weak point with both going over fully intact. Four other similar cranes on site survived the storm intact.
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The cranes overturned at their foundations
The storm also severely damaged over 20 homes and a large tract of greenhouses. The foundations of the two cranes appear to have given way in the face of the storm.
I absolutely love tower cranes, always have since a kid, always will, I admire the way that they balance on such a small footprint, especially when not tied into a set of concrete piles. But I always think that the free standing footprint of a tower crane seems small, even when loaded with tons of concrete as ballast. I am clearly wrong, because so many cranes survive quite happily on such a small footprint, but if that was me up there... maybe an extra 2 or 3 metres on each side would make me feel happier !
Strange...how come that the other cranes didn't fell? Were the towers of the fallen cranes blocked? Why point out the tower cranes in different directions?