20.06.2012
Fatal truck mount collapse in Glasgow
One man is dead and another seriously injured after the boom of a truck mounted lift buckled in Glasgow Scotland.
Details of what happened are sketchy, as it occurred less than two hours ago, but we understand that the two were working from a 43 metre Bizzochi lift on the refurbishment of Buchanan House in the city centre, when it occurred. The lift was on hire from a local company to One Stop Roofing, which was installing safety netting to scaffold.
Please register to see all images
The boom failed at the top of the second section
Gareth Currie, 39, of One Stop Roofing, was pronounced dead at the scene, some reports have claimed that he was thrown from the platform, but none of them have been confirmed. The other man, the machine's operator, Alex Nisbett, 35, did go down with the platform and was taken to hospital with severe head injuries - possibly caused by falling debris - according to the ambulance service.
The unit had its three section jib extended at the time and the third section of the boom buckled at the exit point from the second section.
Police, fire and ambulance personnel are still working at the scene.
UPDATE
We can now confirm that the aerial lift involved was one previously owned by ES Access - the company which was liquidated last year. Craig Services & Access acquired the machine in 2009 from the administrator and has been running it since then.
The unit was subjected to a serious overload a few years ago and was repaired in the Bizzochi factory just before ES Access went into administration. The lift was eventually returned to the UK and sold by the administrator through a third party to Craig Services.
The lift then incurred more recent boom damage last year, when the second section buckled. The unit was fully inspected under the manufacturer's supervision, which indicated overloading as the cause. and a repair was, we understand quoted for. However Craig Services decided not to accept it and collected the machine, arranging for a repair to be carried out elsewhere. We have not been able to ascertain who did that repair, or of course if it had any relevance to the current incident.
This is a tragic and almost certainly avoidable incident and warrants a full and in depth investigation that will truly get to the bottom of exactly what happened so that the industry can learn from it- and sooner rather than later.
The operator Alex Nisbett has now been released from hospital and is set to make a full recovery.
Logan
A DAD who was hurt in a horror crane crash last week had been in an accident on the same machine a year earlier.
Alex Nisbett suffered a serious head injury and his workmate Gary Currie died when the cherrypicker’s boom snapped on Wednesday.
Yesterday, builder Scott Stirling revealed that he and Alex were on the same crane when it buckled before.
Scott, 39, said: “Alex and I could have been killed when the crane buckled last year.
“Now, he is injured and another man is dead after the same cherrypicker buckled again. It’sunbelievable.
“I am so angry. How could the investigators release the crane after such a bad accident? After our narrow escape, I assumed it would have been scrapped.
“I am so annoyed that someone passed that crane as fit for purpose.”
Dad-of-four Alex, 35, and Gary, 39, plunged 130ft when the cherry-picker’s boom snapped as they worked on the side of an office block in Glasgow city centre.
Last June, Scott was working for K2 Steeplejacks when he was paired up with Alex on the Bizzochi 43 cherrypicker, rented from Craig Services and Access.
They were hovering above the roof of the house in Penicuik, Midlothian, when the boom buckled and the cradle tipped and got caught on the side of the building.
The pair had to be rescuedby a fire crew and other cherrypicker operators.
Scott said: “We were in the cradle when we heard a loud crash. The cage tilted and caught the building with its right-hand corner.
“We were so lucky. If we had been extended 10 inches less, we would have hit the floor.
“If it had been five minutes earlier, we would have been goners.
“I remember Alex going very white and being really concerned because his wife was due to have twins the following week.
“It wasn’t until I was back on the ground and looked up at the buckled crane that the shock set in.
“They had to cut the crane down off the side of the building.
“We were told health and safety were investigating and the last thing I heard was that it had been sent to Newcastle. I assumed, for scrap.”
Scott, who changed companieslast October, has not worked with Alex since.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I heard he had been in another crane accident and someone else had been killed.
“It has really shaken my wife. I’m up and down on cranes all the time and have to put my trust in the companies who hire them out, as our lives are in their hands.
“The accident I had in the cherry- picker has not put me off doing my job but it makes you think. It could have been me.
“I hope this tragic incident will mean all equipment is thoroughly checked. And I hope that whoever is at fault is broughtto justice.”
Alex is now recovering at home in Motherwell.
His partner Nicola Stevenson said: “He is pretty bashed and bruised but he is going to be OK.
“It was a really terrifying experience and the last few days have been quite stressful just trying to deal with it all.
“We were just talking about how he has survived the same thing twice. It’s unbelievable.”
Another of Alex’s workmates said: “It is a miracle hehas survived that thing twice.
“The first time the Bizzochi brokein Penicuik, he was really shook up by it.
“He thought seriously about quitting the job because the idea of going up in the basket again terrified him.
“In the end, he got over his fear because he has a family and he wanted to bring in a wage.
“I don’t think he will ever go up in a cherrypicker again.
“It is a real shame because he is just a decent guy trying to earn a living.
“You shouldn’t have to risk your life every day when you go to work.”
Last week, the Record published pictures from the Penicuik incident that showed the boom broke in the same place it buckled in last week.
Donald Craig operates his firm Craig Services and Access Ltd from a farm outside Hamilton.
When the Record confronted him with allegations that the boom had snapped before, he said: “It’s not the same place. There was a fault in boom number three – but that was boom number two.”
Craig Services bought the cranein 2009 after previous owners Newcastle-based ES Access went into administration.
At the time, it was supposed to be in the process of being repaired in Italy after ES Access discovered metal fatigue in the boom.
Crane which buckled and killed construction worker Gary Currie broke in same place one year ago
Jun 22 2012 .
Worker who died when crane collapsed at Glasgow building site named as Gary Currie, 39
Jun 21 2012 .
Devastated worker reveals horror as
Logan
This is the second time in the last 12 months that this machine has done this. The first time the boom went over cage landed in a roof and no one was hurt so it was over looked and the machine got repaired.
Lee Hunwick
Sorry, yes my thoughts are with the family and friends of the people affected by this tradgedy, truly.
May our thoughts be with those who have been affected by this tragic event, the poor guy who died and the poor guy who's injuries will be a challenge to recover from and their families who must be going through hell right now. One thing is for sure - they didn't deserve this. May the investigations be thorough enough to identify the root cause and those responsible.
pedz
Just to keep people straight and stop them thinking that this machine was unsafe to use, the section that has been mentioned by Lee Hunwick was replaced in full by Bizzocchi at the Bizzocchi factory in Italy.
Lee Hunwick
Looks like bizzocchi 43m that was condemned for damage to a boom section in 2009 and then sold on from a hire company in the north east of England