10.11.2008

Crane or scaffold?

A man died yesterday on a construction site at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, UK, some reports blame a concrete panel falling from a crane, while others a scaffold accident.

All we know for certain at this stage is that the man, thought to be in his 30’s, was employed by contractor Bouygues UK and that a Health and Safety Executive investigation has been launched.

The original report we were sent said that the man was crushed when a freak guest of wind sent a tower crane into a spin after it had lifted a masonry panel above the roof line of the hospital building. The panel broke free from the slings, striking the man.

The accident came on a day of foul weather in the UK with torrential rain and high winds in many parts of the country.