Investigation into last year’s crane collapse ongoing

A year after a crane collapsed in downtown Kelowna, killing five people, the incident still remains under investigation.

WorkSafeBC, the RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service all launched investigations immediately after the catastrophic failure that occurred while workers dismantled a tower crane at a construction site on St. Paul Street in Kelowna on July 12, 2021.

The collapse killed four workers at the construction site and a worker unrelated to the site, and one other worker was injured.

WorkSafeBC has spent the last year working with subject-matter experts and engineers to examine the crane components and investigate the sequence of events and work procedures that took place during the crane dismantling process.

Investigators have also examined all relevant documents and evidence and have conducted witness interviews.

Despite having advanced the investigation, WorkSafeBC said there is no established timeline for when the investigation would be complete and a report on the incident made public.

Similarly, Kelowna RCMP, which had turned over the investigation to a dedicated team within the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crimes Unit, also remains underway with no timeline established.

“This is a complex investigation of what is being described as one of the largest workplace fatalities in BC’s history,” said Inspector Beth McAndie, Investigative Services Officer for Kelowna RCMP

“There is a significant amount of technical evidence for my team to analyze.”

The B.C. Coroners Service is also conducting its own investigation outside the purview of the RCMP and WorkSafeBC. That investigation remains open and ongoing with no set timeline established.

In the meantime, WorkSafeBC is continuing to implement a Crane and Mobile Equipment Initiative to identify and eliminate unsafe work practices and equipment hazards that have the potential to cause serious injury, death, or catastrophic events.

—