The British health and safety regulator, the HSE, has confirmed it is investigating the death of an 85-year-old woman and the injuries sustained by four people when a 65ft crane collapsed on houses in East London last month. The victim has been named as June Harvey.
The crane collapsed onto a row of homes, with the body of the machine was left over the top of the apartments, which were unfinished. The end of the crane remained across the back gardens.
London Ambulance Service confirmed that one person died in the incident, while of the four victims, two were transported to hospital and the other two were treated at the scene.
The company, Swan Housing Association, which had been using the crane at the site, explained that it was cooperating with the investigation by the HSE.
The company’s Chair and Chief Executive explained in a joint statement that they “would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family who have lost their loved one as a result of the incident. Your loss is a personal tragedy.
“We recognise that whilst understanding how this happened will not ease your pain, we would like to reassure you on behalf of our organisation that we will fully support the Health and Safety Executive and the authorities in their investigation so that you can receive a full, transparent answer to how this incident took place.”
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London tweeted his condolences, explaining that: “This is a tragedy. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the victim who died during this incident in Bow. I sincerely hope that the four individuals injured make a full recovery.”