Crane Smashes through ApartmentsLevenes call for an inquiry into the safety of cranes after another crane accident in Liverpool
Crane smashes through apartments
One person is known to be injured after a building crane arm ripped through several floors of a multi-storey residential block in Liverpool city centre.
The crane driver is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after he was propelled on to the roof when the crane and its five-ton weight smashed through the apartment complex run by construction firm Bowmer and Kirkland. It appears that all the residents escaped unharmed.
The Health and Safety Executive has launched an investigation into why the crane lost control as it worked on a new block of flats at Tabley Street, near Liverpool's waterfront.
Resident Sarah Banfield was in the building on her lunch break at the time. She said: 'The whole building shuddered. It felt like it was literally shaking.
'We went through the emergency exit but it was full of falling debris. I stepped across a hole in the floor which had bits of metal sticking out of it. I don't know how I did it. We got absolutely drenched because of the broken water pipes.'
James Berry, group manager for Merseyside Fire and Rescue, said it was fortunate that the majority of flats were unoccupied at that time of day.
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Tim Beasley, Personal Injury Partner with Levenes Solicitors Birmingham Office is calling for an enquiry after another serious crane accident occurred in Liverpool.
'We are already dealing with the claim of a widow whose husband was tragically killed in an accident involving a crane which collapsed in Liverpool. The Health and Safety investigation highlighted a flaw in the crane's design which was the cause of the accident. We are aware of a number of other similar cases in Liverpool and London. It is of grave concern that in the 21st Century this type of accident can occur'
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