A number of you have sent us hook camera video footage over the past week or so that showed a collapsing load. We have now managed to track down when and where the incident happened. It occurred a few weeks ago in the UK at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site in Somerset, South West England.
The incident, in early November, occured while a tower crane was lifting a couple of assembled formwork shuttering panels. It seems that the compression tension applied by the chain set proved too much for the connections on the lower panel, causing it to break apart, allowing the top panel to fall onto the scaffolding below.
A spokesperson for Hinkley Point C said: “In early November, during lifting works, a panel fell onto scaffolding within an exclusion zone established for the lift. No one was hurt. Safety is our highest priority at Hinkley Point C. Lifting was paused so we could ensure safe procedures were in place.”
We have also heard that the main contractor, Bylor -a joint venture between Bouygues and Laing O’Rourke - suspended similar lifts following the incident while it carried out an investigation into the cause.
The incident and video – below – show how helpful hook cameras can be in recording such occurrences
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