A tragic event shocked the city of Montevideo this Monday when a 49-year-old woman died after
being crushed by a crane
that fell on the sidewalk she was walking on.
The accident occurred around 9 in the morning when the victim was walking down the block where the well-known
Nuevocentro Shopping
de Uruguay is located.
The Leal Técnicas Vertical company had been working in that shopping center for a week, which had been hired to
clean the façade of the mall
where, among other stores, the Geant hypermarket is located.
For this task, and in order to facilitate reaching the heights, they had chosen to use the forklift in question, which was driven
by
the owner of the
service provider company.
A woman was crushed to death by a crane while passing through a mall.
Photo The Country
The work was proceeding normally.
However, this Monday when its lifting arm was removing stains from the wall about 20 meters high,
the heavy machinery lost stability
and collapsed towards the sidewalk.
His fall, which occurred for reasons that
are still under investigation
, was right on top of
three passers-
by who were walking down the block from the mall located at Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera 3365.
These are a
49-year-old woman who was crushed by the machine and died instantly
;
and a
45-year-old man
who, along with a
19-year-old,
were
injured
.
The tow truck driver was also injured.
In this sense, both he and the rest of the surviving victims were quickly treated by medical personnel and firefighters who arrived at the scene.
The owner of the crane fell into the void
The two pedestrians were transferred to the sanatorium of the State Insurance Bank, while
the owner of the company that fell into the void
was "admitted for observation at the Uruguayan Medical".
According to the local newspaper El País, the man - whose identity was not released - "entered the sanatorium through an emergency door and cannot receive visitors."
The lifting arm of the crane fell from 20 meters high.
Photo The Country
For this reason, from the company they pointed out to the aforementioned newspaper that
"the crane papers were in order"
, but that they have not yet been able to speak with the owner.
The fact is being investigated by the Uruguayan Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
In dialogue with El País, Minister Pablo Mieres said: "When we inspect, we check that the machinery and equipment is in good working order, but we do not keep records. We understand that this is the responsibility of the mayor's office," said the
official
.
Likewise, the labor inspector of the ministry reported that "since there was an event with serious consequences, it is under file reserve."
Regarding the investigation, he explained: "It includes the
summons to the related companies
to deliver pertinent information, with which a report will be made that will be sent to the Legal Department and will lead to a 'long administrative process'."
DS
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