23.03.2015
Fatal crane jump
A man died yesterday after jumping into the water from the boom of the Hikitia floating crane in Wellington harbour, New Zealand.
It is thought that the man, 20, was inspired by a video on Facebook that showed another man successfully diving in to the water from the 90 year old crane.
However this time the boom was raised making it a 40 metre jump, rather than 30 metres, and the man had been drinking before the dive. He is said to have landed on his back and sunk, His body was found three hours later.
The Hikitia crane, said to be the oldest floating crane still in operation, is owned and operated by the Maritime Heritage Trust. They have issued a statement saying that they doubt if putting barriers in place to prevent unauthorised access to the crane would make any difference.
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The Hikitia is said to be the oldest floating crane in operation
Timothy Sherratt
Barriers may not stop the determined, very little will but they are an effective deterrent to many, suggesting that they would make no difference is quite a leap if you forgive the terminology and the cost to install effective barriers is comparatively small, yet it is still an all too familiar sight to see cranes and other high level equipment with little more than the minimum security in place.