Crane collapses onto a building in London

A crane suddenly collapsed onto a building in southwestern London, UK.

The incident occurred on December 10, 2020, on Beaufort Road, Kingston. The crane gave way amid heavy rainfalls and strong winds that struck London on the same day. The building was close to Kingston University but officials mentioned that it didn't belong to the facility. 

The police and the local fire department rushed to the scene and evacuated the local streets as a precautionary measure. According to locals, a nearby car park has also been affected by the failure. The Penrhyn Campus of Kingston University continued operating normally despite the fact that some residences around the area were evacuated. 

Fortunately, there were no injuries associated with the failure of the crane. The causes of the collapse have not been made official yet but, it is highly probable that the forces of the winds triggered the structural failure. Weather forecasts for that day made mention of wind speeds that could reach up to 100km/h.

Amid that time period, strong winds and rainfalls caused two trucks to topple and three more severe road accidents in Scotland.

A remarkable fact is that the same building in which the crane fell onto, was evacuated earlier in 2020 after an unexploded bomb from World War 2 was found.

In July 2020, another crane collapse incident was reported in northeast London, this time in Gale Street, Bow district. A 20-meter-high crane fell onto two residences resulting, unfortunately, in 4 injuries and 1 fatality. 

A local whose home was hit but she was not affected mentioned that the impact of the crane felt like an earthquake and that she was traumatized by the intense experience. 

A month later, a union claimed that officials must release the causes that led to this catastrophic collapse. As of August 14, 2020, no arrests had been made and no person responsible was blamed for the crash. 

The organizations that were operating the crane (Swan Housing Association and NU living) stated that its removal is the first priority however, it is a rather complex procedure. According to an update, issued in September, works "behind the scenes" are being conducted to provide a safe environment to remove the crane efficiently. The removal works need special equipment to be brought to the site and tested before the actual operations begin. The scheme involves making the crane stable and then removing all the debris from the vicinity of the site.

Sources: 

Crane collapse in Kingston:  MyLondon, Dailymail, Standard 

Crane collapse in Bow: BBC, Guardian