Workers at a Gungahlin construction site have narrowly avoided tragedy after a 10-tonne counterweight became dislodged from a mobile crane, smashing the cabin of a truck beneath it.
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WorkSafe ACT, which is investigating the incident, said workers appear to have been trying to remove the counterweight when it became dislodged at the Jade site on Gribble Street about 8.10am on Sunday.
The load narrowly missed surrounding construction site staff but no one was injured and the truck was unmanned. It's the territory's second incident involving cranes in three days, after a mobile crane - manufactured by the same company, Grove - rolled over during routine maintenance at a Hume business site on Friday.
"These are very serious incidents and the likelihood of serious injury or death is quite apparent given the nature of the incidents. We were very lucky indeed that there wasn't anyone injured, or worse," the ACT's work safety commissioner, Greg Jones, said.
The truck involved in the Gungahlin incident had been towed away by about 3pm on Sunday, and WorkSafe contractors said they would return with the crane's manufacturer in the morning to analyse it.
"While the latest incident from today is under investigation, there's not much further we can say other than this will be a very thorough investigation to work out all the contributing factors so we can avoid it occurring in the future," Mr Jones said.
"But importantly the two incidents are unrelated.
“I strongly remind all employers and workers to ensure they carefully plan all operations, especially those involving high risk activities such as cranes or plant equipment."
WorkSafe ACT staff on site said they were yet to determine the exact circumstances of the incident.
About 3pm on Sunday, the site had been secured and the crane "packed up" until further analysis could begin. It was unclear what caused the incident.
Meanwhile, Mr Jones said a crane that had been upturned on Friday in Hume had been safely righted.
“This was a large crane that essentially tipped on its end with the boom landing very close to workers,” he said.
“The consequences of this could have been fatal.”
Investigations into both incidents remain underway.
Correction: An earlier version of this article identified the wrong Gungahlin work site.
