Driver leaps to safety as crane topples into Apperley Bridge canal
A person leapt to safety moments ahead of the 90-tonne quality crane he was driving plunged right into a Bradford canal as a towpath collapsed under its weight.
The Canal & Rivers Trust, that has been doing preparation work to interchange the lock gates, said an investigation ended up launched into why the towpath gave strategies by exactly what has referred to as a ��rare incident��.
The driving force escaped without injury as the crane flipped onto its roof and became submerged within the Leeds & Liverpool Canal following ground crumbled beneath it at Dobson Locks in Apperley Bridge yesterday morning.
Workers in fluorescent jackets may be seen at the site yesterday morning, the place that the crane was on its roof beneath water, which consists of wheels in the air.
Graeme Atkins, 53, of Idle, told how he saw the submerged used cranes, which consists of windscreen wipers still going, as he walked his two dogs along the towpath at around 8.30am.
Bungs ended up being placed across the crane to stop any fuel from the vehicle spreading over the waterway. Fuel was being pumped through the crane yesterday afternoon.
��I couldn��t believe it, it��s not something you see daily,�� he said.
��It��s quite a unusual sight. The employees were just stood there looking at it, I do think we were holding stunned.
��You can view the place that the towpath has crumbled. It��s extremely lucky nobody was hurt.��
Mr Atkins, an ancient Premier League referee, said preparation for the lock replacement have been going down over the last three weeks, with a road being built across land deep down Farm for use of the towpath.
��They’d been pruning trees back and tying overhead cables rebuild safe for access. Then your first day the crane goes onto the web page this takes place,�� he said.
��I don��t discover how they��re going to get the crane out, but I imagine it will require a bit.��
Vince Moran, operations director at the Canal & River Trust, said: ��Above all I’m thankful that the driver or anyone nearby wasn��t injured.
Perhaps the towpath may be fenced off till the quality crane is slowly removed from site, but it is not yet known if this can happen.
The crane is built to lift 90 tonnes, even though it weighs around 64 tonnes.
��When planning and undertaking heritage repairs to some of our waterways we do something to make certain they meet stringent security precautions.
��Naturally we must realize why this kind of patch of towpath gave way all of which will urgently evaluate the circumstances behind this rare incident and apply any lessons learned from using it.��
The Health and Safety Executive continues to be informed regarding the incident.