Crane incident kills one, shuts section of Cambie Street in Oakridge

One person has been killed after a “crane incident” at the Oakridge Park development, according to Vancouver Fire Services.

The area around Cambie Street was shut down between 41st and 45th avenues Wednesday afternoon.

Capt. Matt Trudeau with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says he believes the person was killed when part of a crane’s load fell on them.

Fire crews say multiple agencies attended the scene and a technical rescue team was also called in.

“A crane lost part of its load onto the structure. We are currently still working and in the progress right now of securing building material from falling off and injuring or causing any more damage,” said Trudeau.

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Trudeau says the building was evacuated Wednesday afternoon due to the incident.

Between 1,700 and 1,800 workers were in the area at the time of the incident, Trudeau adds.

‘It came smashing all the way down’

According to workers who spoke with CityNews, the load that fell was a construction table.

“Just something broke loose from the crane and fell … roughly about 30 stories onto a person down below,” one worker recalled of the moments the incident happened.

“The table was being pulled out and, for whatever reason, it started spinning and it hit the side of the building. Once it hit the side of the building, the … piece that holds it to the crane came loose and it fell,” another worker explained. “It fell… and it came smashing all the way down.”

WorkSafeBC confirms it was notified about a “serious incident involving a crane” in the area around 3 p.m. It says officers were sent to the site.

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It’s unclear when Cambie Street will reopen. You can take Oak Street or Main Street as alternate routes.

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-With files from Cole Schisler