Houston: Four workers where killed and seven other injured when one of the nation's largest mobile cranes collapsed at a Houston oil refinery on Friday, hitting the ground with enough force to lift a worker off the ground.
As federal officials prepared to investigate the latest in a string of fatal accidents involving cranes, the Louisiana company that owns the 300-foot-tall piece of equipment said it would pursue its own probe of Friday's incident. Deep South Crane & Rigging spokeswoman Margaret Landry issued a statement from the company's headquarters in Baton Rouge, saying it was investigating "to determine the root cause, correct it and ensure that this type of tragedy does not occur again."
The 30-story-tall crane, capable of lifting 1 million pounds, fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2pm., said Jim Roecker, the company's vice president for refining.
Three of the injured were treated and released at the scene, said Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Omero Longoria. Two severely injured workers were taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Centre hospital and the other two injured workers were taken to a hospital by ambulance.
The crane had not been scheduled to do any work until next week, but Roecker said its engine was idling after it hit the ground.
"This is a traumatic experience for all of us. We have to focus on the safety and health of our employees," Roecker said.
