12.03.2009

Hampstead accident was a mini crane

The crane that fell into an excavation last week crushing a 26 year old man, was a eight tonne mini crawler crane belonging to Bristol based King Lifting and rented to the main contractor Harris Calnan, on a bare lease basis without operator.
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The mini crawler fell into the excavation

The crane had been working on the site in Denning road Hampstead, for the past three weeks and was, we understand, operated by a fully trained operator employed by the contractor.

It has been confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the crane itself, which slipped into the excavation with the boom landing on carpenter Craig Page, killing him outright.
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An accident such as this could have been caused by a wide range of issues, from the excavation giving way, to overloading caused by slewing a heavy load too quickly so that it moves out of radius.

The HSE has taken the crane away for further inspections and is still investigating the accdeint.

Vertikal Comment

These small crawler cranes, like mini excavators, are very forgiving and accidents such as this rare. However working alongside an excavated hole always throws up further hazards.

We understand that the crane operator, who was an employee of the contractor had been fully trained and had received a full induction and familiarisation when the crane was handed over.

We will follow up when the HSE issues its report.

UPDATE

The cause of this accident turned out to be a clear case of excessive overloading. The crane was attempting to lift a skip of concrete to a radius well beyond its capability.

The contractor and at least one comppany director have been prosecuted