26.08.2008

Tower crane falls in Phillipines

Four construction workers were seriously injured after the tower crane they were erecting collapsed on Sunday afternoon on a site near Lapu-Lapu City, Phillipines.

The four, Francisco Dagohoy, 31, Virgilio Ates, 38, Gregorio Kiamco, 21 and Victor Alegado, 28, were taken to hospital with broken arms and legs, along with face and head wounds.

All four men were at the top of the tower which was around nine metres high at the time and was intended to lift materials on a new five-storey building under construction inside the Pueblo Verde Compound at the Mactan Economic Zone II.

The crane fell into an open space in front of the building under construction. The property is owned by the Aboitiz Group which said that the hospital bills of the four workers will be paid by the building contractor, BSP Construction.

Following the accident the Aboitiz management said that the site had been surveyed with the contractor to make sure that technical measures are undertaken to prevent similar accidents in the future.

No further details are yet available on what type of tower crane it was and what caused it to go over.