This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/5383186.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Two die as crane falls onto flats | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two people have been killed after a 165ft (50m) crane collapsed onto a block of residential flats. | |
| One of the men that died at the block in Battersea, south-west London, was the crane driver and another is thought to be a man washing his car. | |
| The flats have been evacuated but police said no-one inside was injured. | |
| The two-storey building is on the edge of a construction site. Local residents described the collapse as like a bomb going off. | The two-storey building is on the edge of a construction site. Local residents described the collapse as like a bomb going off. |
| Police, ambulance staff and firefighters were called shortly before 1800 BST on Tuesday to the site in Battersea Park. | Police, ambulance staff and firefighters were called shortly before 1800 BST on Tuesday to the site in Battersea Park. |
| When I went past the building that was damaged all the windows were blown out Eyewitness Ron Brown | |
| Police have yet to identify the victims and inform their next-of-kin. | Police have yet to identify the victims and inform their next-of-kin. |
| Local resident Ron Brown said: "I just heard a massive bang and I thought a bomb had gone off. Then I saw loads of dust go up. | Local resident Ron Brown said: "I just heard a massive bang and I thought a bomb had gone off. Then I saw loads of dust go up. |
| "When I got round to where it had happened I saw the front end of the crane had hit a block of flats and before I knew it the emergency services were crawling all over the place. | "When I got round to where it had happened I saw the front end of the crane had hit a block of flats and before I knew it the emergency services were crawling all over the place. |
| "When I went past the building that was damaged all the windows were blown out." | "When I went past the building that was damaged all the windows were blown out." |
| I was so lucky, it was a miracle Local resident Tony Ddumba | |
| Tony Ddumba, 16, said he was talking to the local man who died just moments before he was crushed by the crane. | |
| "I saw the stones falling first and as they fell down, I saw the crane wobbling and I thought something was going on." | |
| He said he had run one way and the man, who had been washing his car, had run in the other direction. The crane landed just feet from him, he said. | |
| "I was so lucky, it was a miracle," he said. | |
| Council complaint | |
| Joanna Herrera, who was evacuated after the crane collapsed, said: "I was sitting at home when there was a huge bang. I went outside. | |
| "There was a guy on top of a crane and a guy washing his car. All you could see was his leg underneath." | |
| She said a number of residents had complained to the council earlier on Tuesday about the proximity of the building site although Wandsworth Council could not confirm this. | |
| The spokesman said 25 flats and maisonettes on the Patmore Estate had been evacuated. | |
| The Health and Safety Executive is investigating how the crane collapsed. | |
| Did you see the crane collapse? Send your pictures of what happened to yourpics@bbc.co.uk | Did you see the crane collapse? Send your pictures of what happened to yourpics@bbc.co.uk |
| Or you can send a video message to 07725 100 100 | Or you can send a video message to 07725 100 100 |
| Click here for terms and conditions on sending photos and video | Click here for terms and conditions on sending photos and video |