27.04.2009

Tower crane jib kills two

The luffing jib of a tower crane broke free and falling 37 floors onto the back of a tourist bus in Taipei City, Taiwan, on Friday, killing two Chinese tourists. The bus was carrying 25 tourists from Guangdong Province, China, the accident also injured a further three passengers, one of which – a man aged 63 – is in critical condition.
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The scene on Friday after the jib struck the back of the bus

The Taipei City Labour Department said that overloading and failure to take heed of high winds were the main factors that caused the crane’s jib to become detached. The statement said that the crane was lifting around four tonnes, when its maximum capacity was 3.2 tonnes.

Labour standards inspection office director Chang Chi-yu said: “The construction company ignored the load capacity of the crane. This is a case of occupational negligence. The construction company violated the Labor Safety and Health Law and will be given a NT$210,000 ($6,250) fine.”

The statement also suggested that strong winds were also a factor in the accident while the construction company also failed to close the road while operating the crane above it.

President International Development Corp is the developer on the municipal build¬¬-operate-transfer project. The company and its subcontractors, Ta-Chen Construction Engineering Corp and Neoweb, the owner and operator of the crane, are constructing the building that include a bus transit centre, a shopping square and a hotel.

Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin reiterated the city government's determination that the companies take full responsibility for the accident during a visit to the scene over the weekend.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office and police released The six people that made up the crane team, including an engineer, the team leader, a crane operator and three other workers from the crane operations team - following the posting of bail of between NT$100,000 ($3,000) and NT$500,000 ($15,000), following over eight hours of interrogation about the accident.

Two representatives of two construction companies that are involved in the construction were also questioned, but later freed without bail.