July 9, 2020A woman has died, and four people have been injured after a 20m tower crane collapsed onto a row of houses in Bow, London.
Image @bteirney on Twitter
The 20m crane was being used on a development building a block of flats on Compton Close when the incident happened at 14:40 on Wednesday 8 July.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called at 14:39 and sent crews from Poplar, Millwall, Whitechapel, Stratford, and Shadwell to attend the incident.
On arriving at the scene, said it underwent a ‘complex search and rescue on what is likely to be a protracted incident’. The Brigade deployed a drone to provide aerial imagery to aid with the rescue.
The victim was discovered on the first floor of the flats and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to LFB. She has since been named as 85-year-old June Harvey.
On Thursday 9 July, LFB Tweeted to say that ‘specialist firefighters are working alongside the Health and Safety Executive and Metropolitan Police to safely recover the woman’s body.’
In a statement, LFB Assistant Commissioner Graham Ellis said: “Our Urban Search and Rescue crews undertook a complex rescue operation and used specialist equipment to search the properties.
“Sadly one woman died at the scene. The London Ambulance Service have confirmed that two people were taken to hospital with head injuries and a further two were treated at the scene.”
Eyewitness Bridget Teirney took to Twitter to report that the driver of the crane was inside when it fell, but managed to get out safely.
Mayor of London said it was a tragedy and he his “heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the victim who died during this incident”.
A spokeswoman for Swan Housing Association and NU Living, the firm who were using the crane, said they were “deeply saddened” by Ms Harvey’s death.
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Study of historical data indicates this type of serious construction crane collapse occurs approximately every two years or less in England. V A Cole, Former HSE Principal Specialist Inspector Mechanical Engineering.