A man proposing to his girlfriend from a man-basket in the town of IJsselstein, just south of Utrecht in the Netherlands, was lucky to escape with his life earlier today when the crane and man basket overturned as he approached her bedroom window.
The man had rented a Manitex boom truck and platform from Lopik,Utrecht based Slootjes Kraanbedrijf in order to make his marriage proposal a really special event.
However the crane was not able to fully extend its rear outrigger beam due to a parked car, but carried on the lift regardless, raising the man over the house to reach the window. The crane clearly strayed out beyond its safe working radius for the short rigged configuration and started to tip.
The man in the basket was able to jump clear and was unhurt, but the crane’s boom crashed onto the roof of the house.
Slootjes brought in two mobile cranes to recover the stricken boom truck but then as they lifted the crane boom well clear of the roof, the sling lifting it, slipped and it dropped back down onto the roof, causing further damage. The house has now been declared uninhabitable and the two adjoining homes have also been evacuated.
Thankfully no one was injured in the incident and the man made a more standard marriage proposal, which was accepted. He then whisked his fiancée off to Paris for the weekend.
Meanwhile a second recovery is underway. Crane company owner Stefan Slootjes said that the customer would not be charged and that the company’s insurance will take care of all the damage.