Cranes are a necessary and useful piece of equipment on most construction sites, but extreme caution must be taken when working with them, as any failure could be catastrophic or, at the very least, very costly.
Earlier this week, a wheeled crane in Orlando, Florida toppled over onto its side and onto the adjacent on-ramp to SR-408 . Luckily, no injuries were reported and no cars were hit by the crane. The crane operator was reportedly strapped in inside the cab and was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
The SR 408 West on-ramp, where the crane toppled earlier this morning, is now open at Division. pic.twitter.com/n2j5NtJk1z
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) December 20, 2017
There were conflicting reports initially regarding what the crane was doing as it fell. Early reports stated that the crane was lifting a girder, but it was later confirmed that the operator was just getting the crane into position to prepare for upcoming overnight work.
On its way down, the crane hit power lines and poles, which briefly knocked power out in the surrounding areas. The crane landed awkwardly under the overpass and the general contractor is bringing in professionals to determine the best way to get the crane upright.
Helicopter footage of the accident was shared to Facebook by WFLA, which you can watch below:
The most popular method of demolition these days is by implosion, but not always welcome in certain areas or situations. The use of explosives can greatly damage neighboring buildings and spread hazardous materials over a large radius, which is why a cooling tower at the Mülheim-Kärlich power plant in Germany had to be slowly dismantled from the top.