A woman was pronounced dead and four people were injured after a tower crane suddenly collapsed onto a row of houses in east London yesterday.
The 20-meter tower crane was working on a construction site when it came crashing down onto nearby houses in Bow, east London.
A woman was found dead on the first floor of one of the houses hit by the crane, London Fire Brigade confirmed.
Firefighters attended the science and spent several hours freeing people trapped inside the demolished buildings.
Assistant Commissioner for London Fire Brigade Graham Ellis said: “A 20-metre crane collapsed onto a block of flats under development and into two terraced houses on Compton Close.
“Our Urban Search & Rescue crews undertook a complex rescue operation and used specialist equipment to search the properties.
“Sadly one woman died at the scene. The London Ambulance Service have confirmed that two people were taken to hospital with head injuries and a further two were treated at the scene.”
The crane was being used by Swan Housing Association/NU Living on the construction of social housing.
Swan Housing Association said: “Swan/NU living are saddened by an incident at our Watts Grove site today. Our thoughts are with those affected at this difficult time. We thank the emergency services & everyone for their dedicated response. Our staff are supporting this emergency and the investigation.”
Unite calls for an urgent investigation
Jerry Swain, The national officer for construction at the Unite the union, said: “Yet again we have seen a crane collapse on a construction site. Our thoughts are with those injured in this accident and we hope that no one has been seriously injured and that there has been no loss of life.
“Unite is in the process of contacting the company to discover more details about this accident. There must be an urgent, full and complete investigation into the circumstances that led to this accident. The preliminary findings of which must be released in weeks, rather months or years, in order to ensure that similar accidents are avoided in the future.”