16.11.2015

Crane knocks man from platform

A man was seriously injured yesterday in the St. Paul im Lavanttal region of Carinthia, Austria, after he fell from a work platform on one of the construction yards for the new Koralmbahn high speed rail link between Graz and Klagenfurt.

The man was one of two who in spite of the instructions of their supervisor to the contrary, decided to go ahead and replace the lights on a mobile overhead gantry crane.

The two took an aerial work platform and elevated it to around eight metres to reach the crane, after have replaced the fluorescent tubes, one of them, the crane operator, 26, climbed from the platform into the crane cab, he then operated the crane’s travel function, but instead of reversing away from the platform he moved forward and knocked the platform over, throwing the other man, 46, out of the platform and onto the gravel floor below.

He was rushed to hospital with serious injuries, including numerous broken bones

The 130 kilometre rail link is due for completion in 2023 and will reduce the travel time between the two cities, from three hours to one.