28.08.2026

Boom flip incident

A man was seriously injured earlier this week when he was thrown from the platform of an overturning boom lift in Pontarso, in the foothills of the Alps, south of Bolzano, Italy.

The man, 36, was working from the platform of a mid-size Manitou articulated boom lift at a height of around five metres on Wednesday evening. He was blast-cleaning the internal walls of an emptied storage tank/pond, which we are told is part of a small hydroelectric plant.

As the operator drove the machine while elevated, the rear axle dropped into an outflow/inflow channel, causing the machine to flip over and violently catapult the man from the platform. He was found at the bottom of the drainage channel and had suffered multiple leg fractures and head injuries. He was airlifted to hospital, where we understand he is in serious but stable condition.

The incident is currently under investigation.

Vertikal Comment

This looks like a classic case of not paying attention to the ground conditions. It is likely that the man was focused intently on removing algae from the wall and not on the position of the base machine.

The channel is not insubstantial, and there are several things that could have easily prevented this incident. A simple precaution would have been to use the machine's ample outreach to keep well away from the channel and driving at height. Or a pedestrian barrier could have been positioned between the machine and the drop-off, so that it would have made a clattering noise before the danger point was reached. Or had a spotter on the ground.

Given that he had to be pulled from the bottom of the channel, we have to assume that the man was not wearing a harness with an attached lanyard. If he had, his injuries might have been less serious.

Hopefully he will make a full recovery.