03.06.2009

Tower crane falls in Tokyo

One man, Shinetsu Sato, 45, was killed by the impact, while another, aged 40, suffered a broken arm and other injuries after a luffing jib tower crane collapsed in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward today.

The two men were reported to have been trapped under crane’s superstructure after it apparently slipped from the tower as it was being prepared to be climbed down from around 20 metres. The superstructure crashed down while the jib buckled over the back of the crane. The crane had been working on the seven storey apartment block since last July.

The accident occurred just after nine O’clock this morning. Two other men were also trapped under the crane, but were rescued without serious injury.

The company building the apartments is Tokyo based, Penta-Ocean Construction, which confirmed that the crane was about to be dismantled as the main construction work had been completed.
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The tower crane slipped down the tower landing on several people below

As the crane came down it also struck electrical wires, causing a major blackout affecting around 2,900 homes in the Itabashi, Kita and Toshima wards.
Police are questioning those involved in the accident on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injury.