It was around midday when the 40-year-old man was walking down a public street while construction materials were being unloaded for work on a residential building
A man has died after a part of a crane fell from the sky and crashed down onto him as he walked down the street.
The 40-year-old, who has not been named, was walking on the streets of Telde, Gran Canaria on Friday, May 23 when the shocking incident happened. It was around midday when the man was walking on Tomás Bretón Street, Telde while construction materials were being unloaded for work on a residential building.
For reasons unknown part of a crane became detached and fell to the floor, striking the man as he walked the streets below. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene and desite best efforts medical personnel confirmed the man’s death upon arrival. The Local and National Police also attended the incident to carry out the necessary incident reports and proceedings, before the man’s body could be removed.
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In recent years, the Canary Islands have witnessed several fatal and near fatal incidents on construction sites which has raised concerns about the industry’s adherence to health and safety regulations. One notable case occurred in 2022 when a worker fell from scaffolding while carrying out repairs on a commercial building in Las Palmas, resulting in critical injuries, according to local media.
The incident has prompted the local authorities to launch campaigns aimed at improving safety standards and ensuring that construction companies strictly comply with existing regulations, as well as the need for training programs and regular safety audits to protect workers.
It comes just days after a four-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty while swimming in a hotel pool in Tenerife. The tragic incident took place on Thursday May 22 in Golf del Sur in the south of Tenerife. According to local media the boy had suffered a cardiac arrest due to ingesting a large amount of water while swimming.
Shortly before 5pm local time the boy was rescued from the pool, as reported by the Canary Islands Emergency Coordination Centre (CECOES). The alarm was raised when the young boy was pulled from the pool by the hotel lifeguard and found to be unresponsive.
Emergency services were called and a nurse assisted via the emergency call centre. Sadly, they confirmed that the boy was in cardiac arrest and provided instructions over the phone to locate a defibrillator and begin CPR immediately. The lifeguard, supported by several medical professionals, immediately began resuscitation efforts but sadly the boy died at the scene.
The exact hotel where the tragic incident involving the four-year-old boy’s death occured has not been named by local media or authorities.