06.07.2022

Hanging on to the load

A construction worker had a lucky escape in Toronto earlier today when his hand became trapped in the tag line of a load going to the 30th floor of a high rise tower.

We understand that the man had slung the load - a pallet of blocks or sheeting - and used the tag line to guide it clear of obstacles on the fifth floor, when he gave the ‘all-clear’ for the tower crane operator to take it all the way to the top. As it was whisked upwards his hand caught in the tag line, and he went with it.
It seems that the crane operator was only alerted when the load was close to the top - roughly 160 metres. He then chose to lower the man and the load while other construction workers looked on in horror.

The next risk was that load would then be lowered onto man as he touched down. Thankfully that did not happen, and the man escaped with a broken wrist and bruising to his thumb.
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Hanging on for dear life

A representative from the main contractor - PCL - confirmed details of the incident late this morning stating: "We can confirm that an incident took place at our site located at Front and Simcoe yesterday involving a worker who got entangled with a tagline after hooking a load. Fortunately, he was safely lowered to the work surface and not seriously injured. The safety of all workers and the community is our top priority. We are working with all appropriate authorities and the incident is currently under investigation."

The following video shows the incident as the load was being lowered. Be warned the language is very much what you might expect in such a situation.