Accident site (photo taken at 22:00 on October 4)
On October 4, there was a crane collapse accident at a condominium construction site in Hachiyamacho, Shibuya Ward of Tokyo. The attached photo was taken when I happened to come across the site on my way home. The machinery for vertically excavating soil (a screw auger) directly hit the third floor portion of the adjacent senior housing facility.
According to a security guard at the site, in the morning of October 4, a crane that was hoisting excavating machinery fell over for some reason. Although the crane broke through the hand rails and glass windows of a veranda, none of the residents were injured.
The site is located in a residential area an eight-minute walk from Daikanyama Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line and an 11-minute walk from Shinsen Station on the Keio Inokashira Line. The land was formerly occupied by the Hachiyama branch government office of the National Tax Agency, and Nomura Real Estate Development won the bid in February of this year. Toyo Construction served as the primary contractor and was constructing a condominium building with four floors above ground and one below and a total floor space of 2,823 m2. The excavating machinery that fell over was moved horizontally at around 22:10 by two cranes and the removal was completed. Immediately afterwards, the glass windows of senior housing facility were restored.
(Kazuhiro Mikami)
