17.11.2003

Mystery surrounds Canary Wharf crane collpase

The collapse of a luffing jib tower crane at Canary Wharf which claimed the lives of three construction workers in May 2000 was an accident, according to an inquest at London’s St Pancras Coroners Court.

33 year-old crane driver Peter Clark and crane erectors Martin Burgess 31, and Mick Whittard, 39, employed by Hewden Tower Cranes, plunged almost 140 metres to their deaths when the MAN Wolffkran Hydro 32BF tower crane collapsed while it was being raised by a process known as climbing.

A fourth worker, Eammon Glover, who was up the crane at the time and survived the incident told the inquest how he thought that he was going down with the crane when everything started to creak. “I jumped over the handrail and got two rungs down. Everything came over the top of my head and the whole thing shook,” he said. “I actually thought I was going down with the crane. When everything stopped, I looked up and there was no crane there.”

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) launched an inquiry immediately after the fatal accident and has as yet failed to reach any conclusion as to what caused the crane to collapse. The investigation into the accident also prompted the HSE to release an industry-wide discussion paper on the safe design, manufacture, assembly, use and maintenance of climbing frames on tower cranes.

The HSE has said that it is continuing its investigation, although it is not ruling out the possibility that it may never understand what caused the collapse.