Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi City Municipality has suspended, until further notice, the operations of the contractor, consultant and subcontractor at the worksite where a crane collapsed.
In a statement sent on Thursday, the municipality said it is working with the Abu Dhabi Police to prepare the final report of the investigation into the incident, after which further legal action will be taken against the three entities.
The tower crane collapsed shortly after 9am on Wednesday while it was being lifted by a smaller crane at a worksite located in Al Zahiyah area (formerly known as Tourist Club area), off Hamdan Bin Mohammad Street. The tower crane and its boom had reportedly been much heavier than the smaller crane that was lifting it.
There were no fatalities, however, and there was only one report of minor injuries to an unidentified man who managed to get away from under the falling steel assembly to safety. He had been standing next to one of the cars damaged in the incident.
According to the municipality’s statement, the main contractor must take responsibility for the accident. It is believed that the main contractor had commissioned the subcontractor to dismantle the tower crane, but the municipality stressed that the main contractor must supervise all loading and unloading operations rigorously without relying solely on the subcontractor.
Videos of the incident showed the crane collapsing onto parked cars near the construction site, shattering windscreens and smashing hoods. A police report issued on Wednesday said that the falling crane damaged seven vehicles.
The municipality did not respond to queries by Gulf News about how the vehicle owners will be compensated for the damage. It, however, urged construction companies to adhere to all environment, health and safety regulations in order to avoid untoward accidents and injuries to workers, passers-by and surrounding property.
Last Saturday, the collapse of a crane in Sharjah resulted in the death of a 31-year-old Sri Lankan worker, and injuries to a 26-year-old construction worker from Pakistan. Sharjah Police detained senior managers of the construction company operating on the site while several other workers were summoned for questioning.
The incident is still being investigated by Sharjah Municipality, and work has been suspended at the site in the meantime.
