I don't know when this happened, but I spotted this crane accident on Microsoft LiveEarth, it is just behind the Champion Spark Plugs buildings.
Looks like it was trying to either lift the chimney or take it down. Lets hope they were trying to take it down, because in that aspect, they succeeded!
Last edited by diggingdeeper; 6th Jun 200911:34am.
Autowirral.co.uk - The Northwest's Biggest forum of Motoring Enthusiasts. Cruisewirral.com - The Northwest's Biggest forum of Modified Car Enthusiasts.
A COMPANY has been fined £8,000 after a 60-tonne crane overturned on a Merseyside building site and crushed an electricity substation.
Magistrates imposed the fine after hearing the crash, at the former Champion Spark Plug premises in Upton, could have been fatal and left a nearby brook contaminated.
Safety chiefs said they hoped the prosecution of Flintshire-based Cheshire Crane Hire Ltd would act as a wake-up call to other firms.
Wirral magistrates heard the overloaded crane was parked on a tarmac surface on March 29 last year, but its outriggers were positioned on soft ground.
It overturned while attempting to lift a 23-metre steel chimney stack from the outside wall of a brick-clad machinery room that was about to be refurbished.
The stack fell next to the boom of the crane, while the cab crushed an adjacent electricity sub station.
Over days, the crane’s diesel and hydraulic tanks leaked, contaminating the nearby brook.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Neil Jamieson said: “The company’s managing director Frank Preston estimated the weight of the tower at about six tonnes, but its actual weight was more than double that figure.”
The company was also ordered to pay £8,842 costs by magistrates after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the safety of its employee under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Today Mr Preston put the incident down to “an unfortunate accident” and added: “We always put safety first.”
He said the incident was the first significant accident in the company’s 30-year history.
Autowirral.co.uk - The Northwest's Biggest forum of Motoring Enthusiasts. Cruisewirral.com - The Northwest's Biggest forum of Modified Car Enthusiasts.
None of these satellite maps like google earth, maps, live earth e.t.c are actually 'live'.
Usually the images are less than 5 years old
Autowirral.co.uk - The Northwest's Biggest forum of Motoring Enthusiasts. Cruisewirral.com - The Northwest's Biggest forum of Modified Car Enthusiasts.
There is no excuse for the firm - those cranes have the most annoying sound go off when they approach their weight limit, everybody knows there is another 10% available and lets the alarm go off ocasionally, but this was a long way over the load limit!
looks to me like the out riggers were put on to the grass/mud resulting in the the veichle tipping. some one will loose their job for that with out a doubt. I've worked for Jimmy Ainscough, nice guy but he's no push over. I can see him saying it to the opperator now
"you are the weakest craine operator - GOODBYE"
Uncertainty or not knowing causes depression, Im happy because I know I'm going to die one day!