Three dead in crane dismantling operation

The part-dismantled ship unloader crane with missing counterweight. The hole in the quayside can be clearly seen where the falling counterweight punched through as it fell. Photo: Kaname MUTO / The Yomiuri Shimbun via Reuters Connect

A major incident in Japan involving cranes has resulted in three workers dead, one injured and another missing.

It happened when a large quayside unloader crane was being dismantled at JFE Steel’s East Japan Works in the port at Ogishima, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

In the afternoon of 7 April the unloader crane’s cylindrical counterweight, weighing between 400 and 500 tonnes, broke loose from its mounting at a height of around 35 metres, dropping to the quayside and breaking through it completely. Initial reports were of a scaffolding collapse below the crane. It later emerged the falling counterweight had crushed the scaffold as it fell before breaking through the quay.

The unloader crane stands about 54 metres tall and is being dismantled by specialist contractor Besterra Co. Ltd. The large cylindrical counterweight drum was filled with concrete which, as part of the dismantling process, was being broken up to reduce its overall weight. A concrete crushing machine positioned on top of the drum to handle that concrete waste also fell.

Dead and injured

Five workers on top of the counterweight were victims of the fall. Three were killed, one was injured and another was missing.

A statement issued on 9 April by Besterra spokesperson Shin-ya Ikeda, executive officer and administrative department manager, read, “The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the relevant authorities, and the company will co-operate fully with the investigation. The company takes this incident with the utmost seriousness and will endeavour to determine the cause of the accident.”

The statement continued, “Once the cause has been determined, the company will implement appropriate countermeasures under the guidance of the relevant authorities and will further strengthen and rigorously enforce its safety measures to ensure such an incident never occurs again.”

The company statement included an apology from Yutaka Honda, Besterra president and representative director, “We offer our sincerest apologies to our shareholders, investors, and all other parties concerned for the significant inconvenience and anxiety this incident has caused.”