Manama: At least one foreigner was killed and more than three others were injured when a part of a construction crane fell near F Ring Road in the Old Airport area in the Qatari capital Doha, local reports said.
The accident occurred around 10.30am on Sunday when the crane, painted in bright yellow, was being installed by workers at the construction site of a commercial project.
The gigantic crane reportedly fell a few metres short of the intersection where the newly-built F-Ring Road joins the Airport Road, but luckily no vehicles were caught under it as it fell across all lanes on both directions of the singularly busy road.
The injured, reportedly two Egyptians and one Indian, were rushed to the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and traffic came to standstill on the buy road for more than two hours, the Qatar Tribune said.
“An accident led to a partial closure of road from Air Force signal to Parachute signal; authorities are taking procedures to ensure traffic flow,” the Ministry of Interior tweeted following the accident.
An employee of MidGulf Construction, which owns the crane involved in the accident, said the “equipment was being installed by a sub-contractor,” the daily said.
A construction expert said installing a tower crane when the wind speed is ten knots is “risky especially in an open area”.
Strong winds were blowing across the country, as forecast by the Meteorological Department earlier, when the tragedy struck.
After the accident, many construction companies in Doha reportedly cautioned their staff against operating the cranes when the wind speed is higher than the specified limit.
