A man died and another was seriously injured on building site in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada earlier this month, when the long jib of a self-erecting tower crane came down onto the building during a lift.
The incident occurred on Saturday July 5th at a block of 162 new apartments, being developed as part of a community rental initiative by WestCliff Properties. The man who died has been identified as Carl Lamoureux, 38, the injured man aged 37, has not been named.
The site shortly after the incident occurred
The main contractor Wright Construction issued a statement saying that neither of the men involved were direct employees. President Chris Doka added: “We are deeply saddened by this incident and are cooperating fully with the authorities and workplace parties leading the investigation. While the individuals injured in the incident were not Wright Construction employees, as the prime contractor for the project, we take the health and safety of all workers extremely seriously."
The crane was supplied by J Frame Construction but says that neither of the two men were its employees and added that none of its staff were on site that day. Initial feedback we have received stated that a tower extension cable failure allowed the tower to retract to the point that the jib came to rest on the building. A photograph and video we have now seen appears to confirm this, but we have not yet been able to verify it beyond all reasonable doubt.
The apparent cause – a wire rope failure
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) branch are investigating the incident. The ministry stated that it only publishes news releases and report in the event of a successful prosecution for serious injuries and fatalities.
Others involved do not wish to comment while an investigation is ongoing.
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