13.08.2025

Fatal tower crane incident - Portugal

A man working for a construction company died on Monday at a job site in Tavira to the east of Faro in Portugal’s Algarve, after he was struck by an overturning tower crane.
The crane tower came down onto some office containers. Another man on the site suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
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The deceased was buried under the rubble and by the time the rescue team reached him he was declared dead. The incident occurred at a site close to the Tavira Plaza commercial centre just off the town centre.

The tower crane was installed on a counterweighted cruciform base, but what caused the incident we do not know, it will almost certainly be either an overload, assuming the absence of high winds – which have not been mentioned, or ground giving way under one side of the base, which does not look so, or finally a lack of sufficient ballast.
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The cruciform base

A loader crane and telehandler were brought in to remove the crane elements and check that no one else was buried in the rubble.
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The recovery gets underway

An investigation has been instigated. We will update if and when we learn more.