Multiple near-misses before fatal crane accident, documents show

Workers on the Oakridge construction site reported multiple near-misses involving cranes in the months before a fatal incident that killed a worker, including a crane failure where a block crashed onto a roof — an incident that wasn't reported to site leaders until the following morning.

Yuridia Flores, a mother of two from Mexico, was killed on Feb. 21 when the tower crane at the Oakridge redevelopment site dropped its load onto a building, which subsequently fell onto her. The incident is still under investigation by WorkSafeBC.

Through a freedom of information request, CBC News received records of all complaints made about the Oakridge redevelopment site, led by prime contractor EllisDon, at West 41st and Cambie Street in Vancouver between Jan. 1, 2023 and Feb. 29, 2024.

On March 21, 2023, a worker reported two cranes coming into contact with each other. Per B.C. crane regulations, cranes operating in overlapping zones must have clear boundaries, and there must be clearly written operating procedures to prevent them from hitting each other to avoid safety hazards like loads dropping or cranes becoming dislodged.

On April 19, 2023, a WorkSafeBC safety officer reported that a crane attempted to pick up an 80-foot wall. The wall subsequently broke in half and fell to the ground. No injuries were reported.

On Dec. 13, 2023, a crane failure caused a block to drop 90 feet onto a roof at the work site. Blocks are heavy-duty equipment at the end of the cable used to lift and move loads.

According to the documents, after the block fell, the crane continued to operate for the rest of the day, and the incident wasn't reported to WorkSafeBC or EllisDon until the following morning. 

The documents also detail the calls that came in on Feb. 21, the day Flores was killed. One caller reported that a sling had snapped, and there was "lumber everywhere all over the road." According to fire services at the time, the load fell about 25 storeys.

The following day, WorkSafeBC received an anonymous complaint from a worker who said there was very little overhead protection, little supervision, and "little to no safety."

Another complainant claimed there was also a crane-related near-miss crane on Feb. 28 — one week after Flores's death — but details in the document are redacted.

CBC News has contacted EllisDon for comment.

WorkSafeBC wouldn't comment on the fatal incident, citing that it's still an active investigation. In regard to worker-reported near-misses, it said all of those incidents are inspected, and findings are disclosed to all workers on the site.

"Those types of events are reported to us. We have been to that site many times, from the very start when the work started," said Suzana Prpic, director of prevention field services with WorkSafeBC.

"We would have attended the site and had discussions on how that incident can be prevented in the future."

Prpic said WorkSafeBC is confident in EllisDon's oversight at Oakridge, which has 1,700 workers on a given day.

"It's got a strong site-specific safety plan, strong prime contractor oversight," she said. "We communicate with the employer to make sure they're conducting all of that work as required per our regulation."

Crane safety recommendations

According to WorkSafeBC, there have been four significant tower crane incidents in Metro Vancouver this year and 22 between 2019 and 2023, including the collapse in Kelowna that killed five people in 2021. RCMP have recommended criminal negligence charges in that case.

WorkSafeBC has recommended new safety procedures, including reviewing B.C.'s crane operator certification program and increasing the frequency and capacity of crane inspections.

This week, it met with industry stakeholders, including prime contractors and the B.C. Association for Crane Safety to discuss how they'll be implemented.

"These are complex, large sites with many different activities. We want that work co-ordinated. We want it well supervised, and we want everyone to go home safely," she said.