By: Thomas I. Likness
EBC News Service

(Eagle News) — Police in the western Canadian city of Kelowna say four construction workers died in yesterday’s crane collapse and a fifth man is missing and presumed dead.

“Unfortunately, four individuals, all male adults, were located at the scene and had died as a result of the injuries from the crane having collapsed,” police Insp. Adam MacIntosh said Tuesday.

A fifth man, who was in an adjacent building when the crane collapsed on it, is buried in rubble and believed to be dead.

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

The crane was attached to a 25-storey residential building under construction when it collapsed just before 11:00 a.m. local time Monday.

At the time, crews were trying to dismantle it.

MacIntosh says an evacuation order remains in effect while structural engineers will determine how to stabilize the site.

Among those forced from their homes were residents of a nearby seniors home. That building sustained damage to the roof when the crane fell on it.

Cause of the collapse remains under investigation.
(Eagle News Service)