Crane accident in Netherland injured people- Crane accident happened when two cranes collapse while restoring a bridge in the central Dutch town of Alphen aan den Rijn. After the incident on Monday afternoon, the number of people injured remained unclear.
Rescuers have been in the area searching for survivors after pulling one man from the wreckage of apartments and shops rescue the victims.
Local officials told the public to stay away from the scene to enable rescuer teams to carry out their work into nightfall.
According to Ton Koot, brigade spokesman for firefighters of the central Netherlands region, “Two cranes and the stretch of roadway they were carrying fell on five houses in all, one person had been taken to hospital.” He added that initial reports suggesting that between seven at 20 people were injured had been based on estimates on the number of people who may have been in the buildings.
Queen Juliana Bridge is being renovated by the cranes, working from barges, a canal bridge dating from the 1950’s. The crane accident was because of unbalance by extra load which the second crane also fell. Witness Dick van Smirren said, “You see the cloud of dust rise - that is a terrible image and you think: ‘Who is under there?’ You can’t believe what you see.”
2010 survey had shown the bridge over the Rhine to be in poor condition. Its renovation began this spring and was expected to take all summer.
“We are stabilizing the situation so rescue workers can go in,” Koot said, adding that two teams armed with heavy machinery usually used overseas for earthquakes were at the scene with five specially trained dogs tasked with trying to sniff out those trapped in the area.IMAGE/independent.co.uk
