Crane Fire Injures Two During Heavylift Discharge at Mumbai Port
A 140-tonne unit shifted onto the second of two mobile cranes, lifting it clear of the ground
Two crane operators have been injured after a heavylift operation went wrong at Mumbai port, sending a telescopic crane crashing against a ship before it caught fire.
The accident occurred on Sunday evening at the Ballard Pier Station, close to Mumbai's international cruise terminal, while a 140-tonne piece of cargo was being discharged from the Barbados-flagged Vienna. Two mobile cranes operated by Barkat Company were working the lift together, a configuration commonly used when a single unit cannot take the full weight of an indivisible piece.
Police said a lifting strap attached to the cargo on one of the cranes became imbalanced and came loose during the operation. The load then shifted onto the second crane, lifting that machine off the ground. Its telescopic boom struck the vessel, and the impact and resulting friction set the crane on fire.
Pictures and video from the scene showed a large plume of black smoke rising from the waterfront, close to one of the busiest passenger frontages on India's west coast. Mumbai Port's fire brigade responded and brought the blaze under control. Two Barkat employees were injured and taken to hospital, and no other casualties were reported.
The Vienna remained alongside the berth after the incident while authorities assessed the damage to the vessel and continued their investigation. Neither the extent of the structural damage nor the condition of the remaining cargo has been disclosed.
Tandem lifts of this kind concentrate risk in the rigging rather than the machinery. A strap that slips transfers the entire load to the partner crane in an instant, and a mobile unit that is lifted off its own footprint has no way of arresting the movement that follows. The investigation is expected to focus on how the strap was made up and whether the load was correctly balanced before the lift began.
