UPDATE: Vigil set for victims of crane collapse in Kelowna

Crane collapse into Kelowna building on St. Paul Street. (Photo credit: Clara Jasinski (left); Pieter V Martin (right).

Jul 12, 2021 | 11:50 AM Pete McIntyre

UPDATE July 16

A candle light vigil will be held tonight (July 16) for the five victims of the crane collapse in downtown Kelowna.

The North Okanagan Labour Council is organizing the vigil for 9 p.m. at 1471 St. Paul Street, just down the street from the site where the crane boom toppled on Monday.

Four workers on the crane and a man in a nearby building died when the arm of the crane plunged nearly 26 floors as it was being dismantled, with the cause under investigation by RCMP, the Coroner’s Service and WorkSafeBC.

(The Canadian Press)

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Fifth victim recovered from crane collapse in Kelowna Jul 14, 2021 | 8:35 AM

The body of the fifth victim of Monday’s crane collapse in Kelowna was recovered early this morning (July 14).

The Kelowna area man is believed to have been working in an adjacent building when the crane went down, burying him in under the rubble.

RCMP say crews have been working to stabilize the crane and ensure that the site is safe for search crews. Just after midnight on July 14, the Vancouver Fire Department Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team was able to enter the zone and recover his remains.

Police are not releasing information on his identity.

The four other victims were construction workers.

“Everyone involved in this tragic scene has worked tirelessly to bring the search for victims to an end,” Insp. Adam MacIntosh of the Kelowna RCMP, said. “At this time, we do not believe there are any other persons who were injured or killed as a result of the collapse of this crane. Our deepest condolences go to the family, friends, and coworkers of those who were lost here.”

WorkSafeBC, the BC Coroners Service and the Kelowna RCMP are continuing their investigations into the incident on St. Paul Street in Kelowna’s downtown.

“The evacuation order remains in effect as efforts continue to further secure and dismantle the crane. Once this has been accomplished, a reassessment will be done to determine if it is safe to rescind or reduce that order and allow residents and businesses to return. It is hoped that this can happen within the next day. Updated information can be obtained at www.cordemergency.ca,” Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, have not yet spoken to police, or have any information is asked to call the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit at 250-762-3300

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Four confirmed dead from Kelowna crane collapse with fifth victim not yet located
Jul 13, 2021 | 11:05 AM

RCMP say four people are confirmed to have died after a crane collapsed at a 25-story Kelowna apartment building under construction on Monday.

All four victims were adult males who were associated to the work site and the crane company.

One person, who was working in a nearby building, is believed to have died. That adult male is believed to be buried in rubble and has not been located.

“Yesterday was a tragic day,” Inspector Adam MacIntosh of Kelowna RCMP, told a news conference Tuesday morning. “Something catastrophic occurred, and a lot of people lost their lives, and our objective is to do everything we can to support to find out why.”

One person was taken to hospital with injuries, and has since been been released with non-life threatening injuries.

WorkSafeBC, the BC Coroners Service and the Kelowna RCMP are conducting concurrent investigations into the incident.

The Coroners Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths, while the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit is investigating to determine if criminality was involved in this matter.

The purpose of a WorkSafeBC investigation is to identify the cause of the incident, including any contributing factors, so that similar incidents can be prevented from happening in the future.

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UPDATE 9:00 a.m.

RCMP will give an update at 11 this morning on Monday’s collapse of a crane at a 25-story residential tower in downtown Kelowna.

Jonathan Friesen from the development company, Mission Group, says several workers — all subtrades — were among the multiple casualties at the building scheduled for completion in November.

WorkSafeBC and the coroners service are investigating the scene, with a local state of emergency in effect.

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UPDATE: 3:25 p.m.

RCMP have confirmed ‘multiple fatalities’ after the collapse of a crane into a building on St. Paul Street in Kelowna this morning.

Just before 11:00 a.m., RCMP responded with BC Emergency Health Services, and the Kelowna Fire Department to a building in the 1400-block of St. Paul Street where a large construction crane had collapsed.

“Due to the damage to several buildings, and the danger posed by the partially collapsed crane, a large area of the downtown core of Kelowna was closed and the surrounding area was evacuated.  This evacuation is still in effect and a local state of emergency has been declared.  Residents are being directed to the emergency reception centre at the Salvation Army located at 1480 Sutherland Avenue in Kelowna,” Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said.

“At this time, we are not prepared to confirm the number of deceased and injured persons in this matter, but there is at least one fatality as a result of this incident,” Insp. Adam MacIntosh of the Kelowna RCMP said. “We will be providing further details as soon as we are able to do so.”

BC Coroners Service and WorkSafe BC have been notified and are conducting their own, concurrent investigations into the incident.

The area will be cordoned off until the investigation is complete.

A notice has been issued banning aircraft including drones in the area.

For State of Emergency updates, people can go to cordemergency.ca

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UPDATE: 3:10 p.m.

The developer of a building where a crane collapsed in Kelowna is calling the incident a “catastrophic failure.”

Mission Group said in a statement the crane fell this morning as crews began the dismantling process at the Brooklyn Block on Bernard Avenue between St. Paul and Bertram Streets.

The company and RCMP have yet to confirm the number of injuries but a new conference this afternoon will shed more light on that.

 

Incident: Brooklyn Site — Update #1
Kelowna, BC – July 12, 2021 – At about 10:45 am, there was a catastrophic failure where a crane fell during the dismantling process at our Brooklyn construction site.
Mission Group immediately evacuated the building and emergency crews were dispatched to the site. We continue to work closely with emergency responders to assess the situation.
We are unable to confirm the number and extent of injuries at this time.
Mission Group expresses its deepest sympathy for the families of those affected by this tragedy.
We have set up support services to help those in need.
The health and safety of our employees, trades and the community at large remain our top priority.
We will update you as information becomes available. (Statement from Mission Group)

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UPDATE 3:00 p.m.

The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to support the crane collapse at a building under construction in downtown Kelowna on Bernard Ave between St. Paul and Bertram Streets.

A local State of Emergency has been declared for the City of Kelowna in response to the threat to people and/or property caused by the crane collapse.

An Evacuation Order has been issued for the following addresses:
547 – 612 Bernard Ave
1450 – 1488 Bertram Street
1441 – 1471 St. Paul Street

As an evolving situation, the incident site and its surrounding area remains unsafe and unstable. Road and sidewalk closures, including barricades, are in place to ensure safety. Residents and visitors are to stay out of the area.

Residents will not be allowed to return to their residence or place of work in the area while it is under an active evacuation order.

A state of emergency is an authority measure authorized by the Emergency Program Act. A declaration of a state of local emergency has to be initiated by either a local government bylaw or order and is valid for a period of seven days.

Emergency Operations Centre staff are working with other response agencies to support the incident response and evacuees.

New information will be released as it becomes available.

Emergency response personnel request that the public:

Avoid the incident area and to respect road/sidewalk closures to allow emergency responders to effectively perform their duties.
Please only call 911 in case of emergency
For up-to-date information on the situation, including a map, and to sign up for e-updates, visit cordemergency.ca
Information will also be provided via twitter.com/CO_Emerg and facebook.com/CORDEmergency

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Nothing is official yet, but there are reports of injuries after an industrial accident in Kelowna this morning.

A crane collapsed into the Brooklyn condo tower which is under construction at Bernard Avenue and and St. Paul Street.

Media reports say the incident happened during the process to take down the crane this morning.

The area around the incident is closed down as emergency services respond to the major incident.

People are asked to stay away from this area at this time.

“Due to safety concerns, the area is being evacuated. If you are in this area, please leave as soon as possible in a safe manner,” Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said.

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UPDATE: Kelowna motorists asked to avoid the downtown core

Kelowna RCMP is currently dealing with an industrial accident in the downtown area near St. Paul Street and Bernard Ave.  As a result of the incident, power has been disrupted to much of the downtown core, and traffic is being re-routed out of the area.

RCMP is working to safely evacuate those impacted and is asking all motorists to avoid the entire downtown core at this time.

More details on the industrial accident will more information is available.

(Pieter V Martin photo/Twitter)

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