30.10.2024

Close call in Chile

A crane operator managed to escape with his life when the crawler crane he was operating overturned during a lift in Puerto Antofagasta, northern Chile.

The crane, an aging Link Belt was owned and operated by the contractor Belfie which has been working on the North Desalination Plant (PDN), for Aguas Antofagasta which was contracted by the port to build the water pipeline and pumping station.

Thankfully the banksman spotted the crane become unstable and got out of the way in time, while the crane operator managed to jump clear as the crane had fully tipped, landed and rolled over - as a result no one was hurt in the incident.

The crane was working as part of the Belfi team removing its remaining infrastructure as it exits the site, one assumes having completed the job which was scheduled for completion earlier this year.
It looks as though the operator was lowering a large tubular structure to the ground, but did not have enough capacity to lower the boom as the sling attachment point moved forward, he also failed or was unable to track the crane forward in order to maintain the radius and vertical lift line.

This was the second crane incident at the port involving Belfi, a similar incident occurred last September, which also escaped injuries.

The Port of Antofagasta issued a statement, saying: “An incident occurred on site in which a crane fell over, but no injuries were reported, and there was no damage to the environment. Puerto Antofagasta activated its security protocol which includes notifying the maritime authority.”

The video below shows the incident as it happened.