On February 28, 2024, a serious workplace incident occurred in Montgomery, Alberta, when a crawler crane collapsed at a construction site, leaving one male worker with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The Calgary Fire Department responded to the emergency at the site located on the 4900 block of 22 Avenue Northwest. This event is part of a concerning trend of crane-related accidents across Canada, prompting calls for enhanced training and stricter regulations for crane operations.
The worker was assessed by Alberta Health Services EMS crews, and was sent to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
A series of incidents involving cranes
There has been a series of incidents in Canada that have involved cranes the past few weeks.
Just last week, a crane dropped its load onto a building under construction in Vancuover’s Oakridge neighbourhood in British Columbia, and one person died. The funding campaign launched to help bring home the body of the construction worker who died from that incident surpassed its target.
Also, in late January, two separate crane incidents occurred in Metro Vancouver within a week of each other.
Recently, the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit has concluded its investigation into the Kelowna crane collapse in 2021, and recommended criminal negligence charges.
