Crane Collapse Kills 36 in Shanghai Shipyard

Thirty-six workers were killed and three others injured when a 600-ton gantry crane collapsed suddenly while being elevated in a Shanghai shipyard at 8 a.m. Tuesday.The injured have been hospitalized and well treated. The accident occurred at the Hudong Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, the largest metropolis in east China.Leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council were very much concerned about the accident, and gave important instructions in terms of rescue, relief, and accident investigation.

Huang Ju, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, rushed to the scene for rescue work, along with other municipal officials, firemen and medical workers.

Officials from the Office of the Industrial Safety Committee of the State Council, the State Administration for Industrial Safety, Supervision and Management, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. have also arrived at the scene for relief and investigation.

An accident investigation leading group, organized by the Industrial Safety Committee of the State Council, has been set up according to related regulations of the State Council.The cause of the accident is still under investigation, sources said.

Brief Introduction : It was discovered that the crane that collapsed and killed 28 workers in Shanghai, Tuesday, is China's first and largest gantry crane designed and built in China.

The crane, weighing 5,000 tons itself, is able to lift 600 tons at one time and cover a span as wide as 170 meters.

Before the collapse, the crane was the major piece of hoisting equipment used in the construction of a large-scale boatyard for the Shanghai Hudong Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd.

The major metallic parts of the crane include the girder, a rigid leg and a flexible leg. With an installed capacity of 1,902 kilowatt, the crane is electronically controlled using highly advanced equipment, equal to those around the world.

Source By People's Daily Online ---http://english.peopledaily.com.cn

Shipyard accident kills two, injures 20 in Japan

www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-23 Editor: Yang Lina

TOKYO, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two people died and about 20 others sustained injuries after a 27-meter-long gangway at a shipyard in Oita, Kyushu Prefecture of Japan, collapsed Friday, local media reported.

The gangway to a ship that is under construction collapsed at around 9:30 a.m. at the Ozai shipyard of Minaminippon Shipbuilding Co., sending workers falling to the ground or into the sea, local fire department and police officials said.

The gangway collapsed shortly after it was installed using a crane, Kyodo News quoted the officials as saying. Some of the injured were taken to nearby hospitals, while those who sustained slight injuries were treated at a tent set up near the accident site.

According to Minaminippon Shipbuilding, the shipyard was completed in May last year as the company's third plant for manufacturing large vessels.

Construction Worker Injured At New Condo Site

By Jenny DeHuff, The Bulletin Published:Friday, January 23, 2009

Philadelphia — A Philadelphia man was injured Thursday afternoon as he was handling a three-ton slab of concrete at a construction site.

According to police, a white male, whose name has not been released, broke his hip while moving precast concrete, the type of construction material used in forming exterior walls of a building.

An employee of Turner Construction Company, the man was working at 18th and Sansom streets, the site of 10 Rittenhouse Square, the new, 33-story luxury condominiums.

Reports conflict about how the concrete fell on the man. Police said the massive slab fell from scaffolding; however, witnesses at the scene said it happened while he was removing it from a flatbed truck.

Police said the man was rushed to Hahnemann Hospital and is listed in stable condition. They have labeled the 1800 block of Sansom Street as a crime scene, due to the severity of the accident.

A hospital spokeswoman said physicians are still assessing his status.

Jenny DeHuff can be reached at jdehuff@thebulletin.us
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Accident at new mine construction site.

by Beth Sergent

RACINE — A 26-year-old man working for contractor US Equipment at the Yellowbush Mine site fell from scaffolding yesterday afternoon and was flown by MedFlight helicopter to a local trauma center as a “precaution.”

US Equipment are constructing two tunnels, including a clean coal reclaim tunnel for Gatling, Ohio, owner of the Yellowbush Mine.

A spokesperson for Gatling, Ohio said the worker was flown to the trauma center as a “precaution” and at no time did the workers lose consciousness, had no broken bones or was cut.

“At no time was this life threatening,” said the spokesperson.

According to the spokesperson, the worker, who was working on the clean coal reclaim tunnel, fell on scaffolding first and was unable to catch himself and rolled off the scaffolding into a “reasonably tight space.” The spokesperson said at no time did he free fall 12 feet, adding the man landed between an earthen and concrete wall and that EMT’s on the work crew were first on scene to assist the patient.

Emergency personnel from the Racine Fire Department and Meigs EMS were also called.Work continues at the mine’s construction site.