December 2013 | Page 2 of 3

Tower crane loses jib in London

A luffing jib tower crane has lost its jib on a site in Ealing, London yesterday evening. No one has been injured in the incident and some reports state the possible cause is related to the strong gusty winds currently in the area.

The crane, owned by rental company LTC – London Tower Cranes – was working on the Dickens Yard site in Ealing Broadway, currently being developed by St George. The operator was treated for shock, but was otherwise unhurt. A spokesman for St George acknowledged that the incident had occurred, but said that it was not possible to comment at this stage on the possible cause.

The crane and jib which appears to have suffered from a sheared jib bolt, are said to be stable, although they have been monitored overnight for any further movement or risk.

Tower crane hits supermarket in Germany

On the 11th of December a tower crane has collapsed onto an Aldi supermarket in Bad Homburg, Germany, killing at least one member of the public.

The crane, a regular top slewer owned by BBL Cranes, came down around 11:30 this morning hitting the supermarket next to the large office construction site it was working on. The counterweights are said to have fallen near the check out, where the impact killed a 45 year old customer.

Seven other people were injured, with two of them considered to be in a serious condition. The crane operator, 58, is among the injured as was the mother of the deceased. The more serious injured were airlifted to hospital.

A search is continuing among the rubble for any other injured persons, but this is being hampered by the instability of the structure. A mobile crane has now lifted the crane clear of the roof.

Two all terrain cranes overturned in Venezuela

The incident occurred at the site of the Tamanaco station on Line five of the Caracas Metro, miraculously no one was hurt or injured.

We understand that the cranes, reportedly two 100 tonne Liebherr LTM1100-5 owned by Grúas y Transporte Libertador, were working from opposite sides of a large access shaft, and tandem lifting a large truss beam onto the top of the shaft, when the outriggers on one crane sank into the ground causing it to overturn and then pulling the other crane over.

One crane simply turned onto its side, while the other tipped into the shaft and eventually slipped all the way in. It also punctured a diesel storage tank as it went in, which then leaked out in to the street resulting in a road closure.

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Crane fatality in Boston

A man was died after a six tonne steel beam arch dropped from an overhead crane at Boston Bridge & Steel on 9 december.

The man – one of four men working in the vicinity at the time – was Marco Antonio Huezo Mancea, 46. Originally from El Salvador he has worked in the USA for 12 years and has a wife, son, and two daughters living in El Salvador.

The local police say that he was pronounced dead at the scene, an investigation into what went wrong is ongoing.

Crane accident in Bergen

The boom of a loader crane collapsed yesterday dropping a skip onto two vehicles in Bergen, Norway – in a street close to the city’s main shopping centre.

The crane, a Fassi owned by Svanco Transport, was lifting the skip down from the fifth floor of a building with a fully extended seven section boom and four section jib when the second hydraulic boom section either snapped or came out of the lower section. Both the boom and skip came down onto the two vehicles, one of which was completely crushed. The drivers had to be cut from the vehicles but fortunately only suffered minor injuries.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the incident which is thought to have been captured on CCTV.

A guy who lives in Bergen, said: “I have to say, that it seems to be very common around Bergen to use loader cranes to lift and lower items onto the roof of buildings during maintenance or refurbishment. The work often takes place above busy areas, with little or no coning-off or restrictions to traffic or pedestrian access during the lift.”

Liebherr sells harbour cranes in the Middle East

Liebherr has won several orders for LHM mobile harbour cranes from the Middle East. These include two LHMs, a reachstacker and the first LiSIM LHM 550 simulator. This year more than 40 mobile harbour cranes have been delivered making a total of well over 300 LHMs in the region.

A first was the order for the new LiSIM mobile harbour crane simulator for Saqr Port in Ras Al Kaimah, United Arab Emirates. The resulting increase in operator skills allows for safe and productive crane operation in the real world and naturally boosts productivity. Saqr Port has opted for the classroom solution which can be easily integrated into existing training centres.

Saqr Port has ordered an LHM 550, reinforcing its existing mobile harbour crane fleet. The new crane is equipped with Liebherr’s Pactronic system for more fuel efficient bulk handling. The LHMs can also be used for container handling and general cargo operation if necessary – just by an easy exchange of the lifting attachment. The new crane and simulator will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2014.

To revitalise the Port of Maqal in Iraq, NAWAH Port Management has purchased an LHM 180 and a Liebherr LRS 645 Reachstacker. The LHM 180 is designed for container handling as well as for safe and reliable general cargo operation having a maximum lift of 64 tonnes.