Crane topples into Harbour
Witnesses who heard a crane fall on a work site and into Sydney Harbour say it is lucky no-one was killed in the incident. The crane collapsed on a barge near the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park off Milsons Point after 1pm on Tuesday with its arm dipping into the water. A spokesman for SafeWork NSW said police had alerted them to the incident.
A METAL crane wire that snapped and was sent flying over Sydney Harbour and into Luna Park’s iconic face entrance was lucky not to have killed someone.
Despite the union’s fears, no one was injured when the 200-tonne Waterway Constructions crane, which sits on a pontoon just off the tourist attraction at Milsons Point, toppled into the water after 1pm yesterday.
The crane was trying to lift a 10-tonne block of concrete off the harbour bed when the wire snapped and a section of it was flung towards land.
CFMEU NSW secretary Brian Parker says a metal hook attached to the wire weighed about half a tonne.
“That sort of force could have killed a number of people here today,” he said.
Mr Parker said inspectors would be keen to examine the service records for the crane.
He pointed the finger at SafeWork NSW, which has overall responsibility for workplace safety, and the State Government for relying too much on self-regulation in the construction industry.
Witness Luke Bayly was sitting on the other side of the harbour when the crane fell.
“It was a huge bang. It startled me. I thought a bomb had gone off,” he told ABC radio.
Paul Garrett from the Maritime Union of Australia said every crane lift was complicated and required a particular skill set. But he said more attention needed to be given to compliance checks.
“It only has to go a couple of degrees either way and someone’s dead,” he said.
Luna Park Sydney said there was damage to the face and the wire was removed from the entrance by midafternoon..