The construction crane which collapsed in downtown Reykjavík yesterday is believed to have been lifting a much heavier load than it was made to lift in the position it was in, mbl.is reports. That is the conclusion of the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health. Two teenage girls narrowly escaped injury when the crane fell down.
Furthermore, there is suspicion that the crane’s security system had been tampered with, preventing the crane from being deactivated, as it should, under too great a load. CEO of the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health Eyjólfur Sæmundsson stated the suspicion is well-founded, leading officials to decide to make it public.
Eyjólfur explained, “First of all, the crane is equipped with a system that prevents it from being able to lift a load as heavy as this one was; and it did lift the load, so it was not deactivated by the safety equipment and not prevented from lifting; and we found signs suggesting that the safety equipment had been tampered with.”
