A stationary crane collapsed at the intersection of Dundas and River Streets in downtown Toronto this morning and took down a powerline in its tracks — leaving many residents without electricity.
According to Toronto's Hydro outage map, anywhere between 1,001 and 5,000 residents in the Regent Park and Cabbagetown neighbourhoods are currently without power thanks to the incident, which marked the second time a construction crane has collapsed in downtown Toronto in just three weeks.
Around noon Thursday afternoon, Toronto Hydro tweeted that customers in and around the area from Sackville Place South to Shuter Street and Parliament Street East to Bayview Avenue were experiencing an outage caused by the crane and that crews had arrived on site and were starting to assess the damage.
We’re currently experiencing an outage affecting the area in & around Sackville Pl south to Shuter St & Parliament St east to Bayview Ave.
— Toronto Hydro (@TorontoHydro) August 6, 2020
The outage was caused by a crane that came down on a powerline. Crews have arrived on site & they’re starting to assess the damage. pic.twitter.com/UMjeev5HYE
They then said that they hoped to restore most customers through switching, but that "some customers may be without power for some time until the site is safe for [their] crews to work."
Roughly two hours later, Toronto Hydro said crews were starting their work but that they would need to first isolate the affected area so that they could then safely perform repairs and restore power.
"To help keep everyone safe, we encourage those in the area to stay back from our crews & give them space to safely perform their work," they wrote.
"While it takes time to perform this work, especially given the circumstances, crews are working as quickly & safely as possible. We appreciate everyone's ongoing patience."
Around 4:30 p.m., Toronto Hydro provided an update and said they are cooperating with the Ministry of Labour while they begin their investigation into the incident, and they'll continue with restoration efforts when it's safe for crews to do so.
"Customers should expect to be without power into the evening. We appreciate everyone's continued patience today," they said.
According to the outage map, power is not expected to be restored until 6:10 p.m. at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Mayor John Tory issued a statement about the crane collapse Thursday afternoon in which he said he was grateful that no one was seriously injured or killed.
I am thankful that no one was seriously injured or killed in today's crane collapse on Dundas Street East.
— John Tory (@JohnTory) August 6, 2020
Thank you to all our first responders who responded to this incident and continue to be at the scene. pic.twitter.com/TcexTzBQnu
He added that health and safety requirements for crane operations fall under the Ontario Ministry of Labour, and that his office has reached out to the Minister of Labour's office and asked them to make sure "clear direction is sent to the construction industry as soon as possible and that they consider additional inspections."
According to Tory, Toronto Building has also sent an inspector to the site to determine whether any surrounding building structures have been impacted.
"While this incident is still under investigation, I encourage the construction industry in our city to take all precautions possible to make sure their sites and cranes continue to be safe," Tory said.
"This is the second crane collapse in our city in less than a month and so we will want to know what exactly happened in both cases and how it can be prevented."
by Mira Miller via blogTO
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