Crane topples over in Chalk Farm blocking traffic
A crane which toppled over in the middle of a road in Belsize Park is believed to have narrowly missed a passing car.
The white pile-driver crane crashed into Adelaide Road shortly before 1.30pm this afternoon (Friday July, 13), blocking traffic and causing buses to be diverted.
Cllr Jonny Bucknell, who represents Belsize ward, was driving his G-Wiz electric car when he spotted the aftermath of the accident.
He said: “One look at this and you think, blimey, if this had come down on my little G-Wiz there would be a by-election in Belsize.
“A policeman told me a car was driving along the road and narrowly missed the falling crane. It would have been a fair old dent in the roof if it had hit them.
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“It is lucky it toppled over slowly so everyone had a chance to get out of the way.”
It is not yet known why the crane fell over. No one is believed to have been hurt.
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Sally Preston Cowell, a stay at home mum, who lives in Adelaide Road, was walking her son home from school when she saw the accident.
She said: “When I saw it fall I was so scared, my immediate thought was what if it was an hour later it could have been school kids walking across.
“I just phoned my husband and told him. He said, ‘Funnily enough I saw that this morning and the crane looked like it was tilting’. It is surprising that no body noticed it was an accident waiting to happen.”
Becky Howard Dennis, 33, was on her way to a doctor’s practice in Adelaide Road when she spotted the fallen crane.
The pregnant journalist said: “It could have been so much worse and as a mum and 29-weeks pregnant woman I am just so grateful that no body on the site and no pedestrians were hurt. It could have been so easy to have ended in disaster.”
Traffic around the area is at a standstill and some bus passengers were left stranded as the 31 bus was diverted.
The crane, which was working on a building site near the junction of Primrose Hill Road, remained sprawled out across the street many hours after it toppled.
It is not expected to be removed until this evening (Friday, July 13), as the nearest crane large enough to haul it away is in west London.
The London Ambulance Service was alerted to the fall, but did not treat anyone.
