19.02.2015

Crane operator fatality

A crane operator died on Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, when an 11 metre steel beam slipped out of its rigging and landed on the cab of the crane.

Christopher Pierson, 40, who was employed by crane rental company Axis Cranes, died from a blunt force head trauma. He had been working on a retaining wall alongside some railway tracks at the time.

We have no details at this stage on what type of crane was involved. Axis runs an extensive fleet, ranging from boom trucks, to truck and Rough Terrain cranes up to a 500 tonne Demag All Terrain, along with a large lattice crawler fleet up 400 tonnes.