14.04.2007

Another outrigger accident

A 50 to 60 tonne telescopic crane tipped over in a street in Silema, Malta after it slipped off its home made/make-do outrigger mats. The operator was only slightly injured and thankfully no bystanders were involved.
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The crane boom came to rest on a building occupied by students

The crane’s boom came to rest on an three apartment building which was occupied at the time by language students. The crane was working on the site of a five star hotel being built by AX Holdings..
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The operator used stone blocks, the top right outrigger slipped off the blocks and then caused the outrigger beam to bend

Anglu Xuereb, chairman of AX Holdings, said yesterday his company regretted any inconvenience caused. He assured residents of the flats that all repair works to the block damaged by the crane would be completed in the shortest time possible.

The company is looking into the cause of the accident as are the police, the local magistrate has also been notified.

Vertikal Comment

What is it with these clusters of accidents? This is the third or fourth accident involving sloppy outrigger shoring or set up in less than a week.

This case is one of the worst examples, the four axle truck crane is equipped with small outrigger pads and the operator has placed two stone blocks under each pad, which a) Do not spread the load over a greater area, in fact the opposite is more likely the case and b)Create additional instability due to the height of the bricks .

The operator would in fact have been better with nothing under his pads.

This could so easily have been a much nastier accident, if the boom had penetrated the roof and landed on two or three students. Hopefully the authorities in Malta will take this near miss as a warning.