27.05.2008

Harness saves operator

A man is alive and well this morning after his 135ft boom lift tipped over on a site in Melbourne, Australia, thanks to his harness.

What caused the boom lift to tip over is far from clear, the upper boom on the Genie Z135/70 was retracted at almost fully elevated while the lower boom was partially telescoped.

The fact that the platform went over the back of the machine, suggest that this is case of rearward stability. Although it is also possilbe that the boom of a crane working alongside, struck the aerial lift boom causing it to loose stability.
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The scene of the accident this morning

As the lift went over its boom struck the back of the crane boom, the lower boom came to rest on the top of the cranes counterweight, while the basket ended up upside down in the branches of a small tree.

The 27 year-old operator would have been catapulted to the ground with the full force of the fall, when the boom hit the crane, but thankfully he was wearing a full body harness and was left suspended three or four metres from the ground.

Colleagues on the site at Melbourne University, quickly freed him from his harness and his was in the first aid room being treated for minor scratches by the time the paramedics arrived.

He was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital by ambulance as a precaution, but was later discharged.

WorkSafe is at the scene investigating the accident