24.06.2024

Crane banner drop injures 10

A massive banner and its support beam were dropped from a mobile self-erecting tower crane in the village of Geesteren in the north east of the Netherlands on Saturday, injuring 10 people in the stands, two of them seriously.
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All looks fine then…

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The rigging starts to give

The match was a friendly game between local club Stevo and FC Twente from Enschede on the German border due east from Apeldoorn, a short distance to the south of Geesteren.

The mesh banner, organised by the home team, was attached to an extremely long square profile lattice lighting beam. As the teams walked on the pitch the beam appeared to flex and buckle as some of the rigging became detached, leaving the beam to drop into the stands below.
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The banner falls onto 10 people below

Some of the injured were taken to hospital, others were treated on the spot, and we understand two were airlifted.

The crane itself was not affected by the incident, which looks to have been entirely due to the length of the beam, the way it was rigged and the stress applied to the lifting lugs/eyes.
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The aftermath

The match was cancelled and an investigation has been launched.

The video below shows the incident as it happened.