THIS is the moment a huge crane toppled at a north-east industrial estate – just yards from where people were working.
The 96-tonne machine was carrying out a lift at an engineering plant when the ground gave way beneath it.
The eight-axle vehicle’s tail sank into the earth, its cab was left about 50ft above the ground and its huge boom was left buckled.
Last night, an investigation into the accident, on the outskirts of Peterhead, was under way.
The incident happened at a site operated by engineering firm Aquatic at the Dales Industrial Estate.
No one was hurt and it is understood that the driver of the Liebherr crane, which has a lifting capacity of 500 tonnes, was not in his cab at the time.
The virtually new crane is owned by Tipperty firm Whyte Crane Hire. It is believed to have taken delivery of the machine a matter of weeks ago.
One witness said: “I was standing outside my work when it happened. It was quite a sight.
“One of the support outriggers sank into the ground, then it rolled over and then the extendable jib broke.
“It was just lucky no one was hurt.”
An Aquatic spokeswoman said last night that the crane was carrying out a “routine” lift of subsea equipment when the accident happened.
She added: “We are investigating an incident at our Peterhead facility just after noon.
“We contracted Whyte Crane Hire for a routine crane lift of subsea equipment – Whyte has been a supplier to Aquatic for many years.
“Whyte are now on the scene co-ordinating the recovery operation.
“We believe that this operation should not take too long, and will be carried on through the night until completion.”
Six years ago, one of Whyte Crane Hire’s vehicles was at the centre of an investigation into a road accident which claimed the lives of a woman and her two daughters.
In 2012, a sheriff ruled that the firm played a fundamental role in the events leading up to a crash in January 2008 in which Johnshaven woman Ann Copeland, 45, and her daughters, Niamh, 10, and Ciara, 7, died.
They were on a school run when their car skidded on the A92 Stonehaven-Dundee road near St Cyrus. It was later discovered that hydraulic fluid that had leaked from a mobile Terex crane – which had been on the road shortly before the family set off – was responsible for Mrs Copeland losing control of her car.
A fatal accident inquiry ruled that the accident could have been avoided if the mobile crane had been properly maintained.
A union leader said yesterday that questions needed to be answered about whether or not the appropriate risk assessments had been carried out before the crane was used at the Dales Industrial Estate.
Unite regional organiser Tommy Campbell said: “At least no one was hurt here, which is good, but it does throw up the question of how this was allowed to happen.
“Clearly the ground was not suitable for a vehicle of this weight and a site-specific risk assessment should have been carried out to test that.”
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: “We have been made aware of the incident with the crane in Peterhead and are carrying out initial inquiries to establish what happened.”
No one from Whyte Crane Hire would comment.