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Tuesday, 11 December 2007

New Fears on Crane Safety After Lewisham Accident

Construction union UCATT are calling for an urgent inquiry following the latest accident involving a crane on a construction site.

The accident occurred today (Tuesday 11 December) in Bird in Hand Passage, Forest Hill London SE23 at around 10 o’clock this morning. The jib of the crane which was in operation at the time collapsed, knocking over several concrete pillars.

It is understood that no workers or members of the public were injured in the accident.

Jerry Swain UCATT regional secretary for London and the South East, said: “Through sheer luck we are not talking about another fatality. The level of accidents involving cranes is so high that workers fear that there must be some kind of fundamental flaw in their operation or installation.”

Since 2000 there have been 8 deaths, 24 serious injuries and a large number of near misses, as a result of accidents involving cranes.

Mr Swain, added: “We must have a swift inquiry in order to establish whether the necessary inspections had been conducted on the crane and what went wrong.”