At least 4 dead after crane collapse in Canada, officials say

By Deanna Hackney and Hollie Silverman, CNN

Four people are dead and one is missing after a crane collapsed at a construction site in Canada Monday, officials said. The collapse comes just days after another crane collapsed in Toronto.

All four of the deceased were associated with the work site and the crane company, Inspector Adam MacIntosh of the Kelowna Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tuesday.

One person hasn’t been located and is thought to be buried, MacIntosh said, as “all information suggests that’s sadly what’s occurred.”

The crane was attached to a high rise under construction in Kelowna, British Columbia, when it toppled Monday morning, hitting an adjacent professional building and the roof of an “old age home,” MacIntosh said earlier.

Some workers were on the crane when it collapsed, according to MacIntosh.

The crane was being dismantled when “something catastrophic occurred,” MacIntosh said. The investigation into the cause continues.

“Yesterday was a tragic day, to see all those workers standing there and knowing that they have just lost some of their friends and coworkers, and to see the families and what they were dealing with, I can only imagine what they’re going through,” MacIntosh said.

The site of the collapse and the surrounding area were unsafe and unstable, MacIntosh said.

The incident prompted the evacuation of surrounding streets as well as a local emergency declaration. Crews are investigating the cause of the collapse.

Harry Bains, the minister of labor in British Columbia, said he’s “deeply saddened” by the collapse.

“My thoughts are with the workers affected, and I send my sincere condolences to the families, friends and co-workers of the victims,” Bains said in a statement Monday.

“All workers have the right to a safe and healthy workplace — even one injury or death is too many. This is a heartbreaking reminder that we must strive to ensure the safety of all workers to prevent incidents like this from happening,” he added.

Bains said the accident is being investigated by WorkSafeBC, the BC Coroners Service and the RCMP.

MacIntosh said 911 calls regarding the collapse started coming into authorities just after 11 a.m.

Several workers were on or near the site when the collapse occurred, he said.

Kelowna sits along Okanagan Lake, about 240 miles west of Vancouver and about 90 miles north of Canada’s border with the US.

The crane collapse in Kelowna happened just days after a portion of another crane collapsed on top of a building in Toronto Saturday, causing damage to its rooftop but no injuries.

The counterweight, part of the crane meant to prevent it from tipping, was located on top of the 8 The Esplanade residential building after it fell approximately 20 feet, Toronto Fire District Chief Stephan Powell told CNN.

The top six floors of the condominium are mechanical rooms used for building maintenance, so no residential units were damaged, according to Powell.

The crane was carrying about 20,000 pounds of counterweight, which shifted, resulting in the crane tipping over, Toronto Fire platoon chief Kevin Shaw told CNN newsgathering partner CTV News.

“This crane collapse [caused] a bit of structural damage on the roof area, but no danger to any of the floors below, tenants or anything and didn’t get into any the apartment unit,” Shaw told CTV.

CNN has reached out to Del Property Management, which owns 8 The Esplanade, for comment.

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CNN’s Paula Newton and Kay Jones contributed to this report.