Page 36 - Crane Operator News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Incredible nightmare. rescuers are praised for their tireless efforts, but some who were there believe fate lent a hand as well. >> we were originally delayed because of a vehicle breakdown. we would have been two hours ahead of the accident. i believe everything happens for a reason. we were just in the right place at the right time. >> it was just amazing that it was there. i started to wonder like, okay, maybe angels wear camouflage. i don't really know, because it was bigger than me. bigger than me. >> just looking back on it, we were lucky at times having the seabees show up. it was mirac...

Have enough strength to hold on so they could be pulled to safety. >> the powerful sucking water kept pulling her under. >> further downstream, her husband does not make it out alive and his body is recovered by rescue workers. >> i was already down at that other bridge. because i was going to try to save that guy, because i thought the woman was okay. then i run back up here, and my boss, chad, told me to get in the crane, let's move this stuff and get the crane up closer. >> but there's still hope for the man's wife. so the quick-thinking construction crew jumps into action. the 26-veteran c...

[ screaming ] >> i didn't hesitate a nanosecond and i told that crane operator bring him down. we needed to get him down and close to us. >> jasen's sister yells in desperation. >> i remember people yelling go faster, bring him down. but he couldn't. he was literally going as fast as he could. >> the crane operator lowers jasen into the river as firefighters battle the flames. >> i saw him lifeless hanging back. i was really, really scared. i didn't know what the situation was at that point. i knew it wasn't good. >> but then slowly joe chasny sees signs of life in his friend. it turns out the...

Seemed to have taken maybe five or ten minutes to get it a hundred feet off the ground. once they did, probably another 10 or 15 minutes to get the tank oriented correctly above the legs. >> the crane operator nearly 130 feet in the air lowers the container closer and closer while his co-workers guide its placement with the attached cables. as one of the men begins his climb down to the ground, the crane suddenly starts to shift. within seconds, to the horror of those watching below, the crane carrying the container gives way, colliding with the legs of the water tower. with cables breaking, t...

>> the 24-year-old crane operator suffers critical injuries, but survives the accident. one of the workers on the tower, protected by the cage surrounding the ladder is in good condition. tragically, the other worker is airlifted to the hospital but does not survive. >> i'm not sure what anyone could have done to avoid this. there was a significant amount of compacted earth at the job site that was covering a liquid mud slurry that was undetectable from the surface. they had the outriggers in the correct places, but there was just so much weight on the ground that it collapsed due to that mud ...