4 dead, one missing in B.C. crane collapse

4 workers were killed and a fifth man is missing in rubble after a crane collapsed at a construction site in Kelowna, B.C., the RCMP said Tuesday.

Update on investigation into crane collapse https://t.co/ig1DM2tYBl #Kelowna

— Kelowna RCMP (@KelownaRCMP) July 13, 2021

Insp. Adam MacIntosh told a news conference that four men, all workers at the construction site, were killed when the upper portion of the crane toppled from the 25-storey residential tower and smashed into a neighbouring building on Monday.

The missing man, who is presumed dead, was working in that building and police are hoping to recover his body from the rubble later on Tuesday, MacIntosh said.

Police said another man was taken to hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

The Mounties are collaborating with the BC Coroners Service, B.C.'s worker safety agency WorkSafeBC, the local fire department and engineers to determine what's required to safely dismantle or secure portions of the crane to recover the man's remains, he said.

Until then, a local emergency order prevents anyone from accessing the area.

The building next door housed a consulting business of some kind, MacIntosh said.

He would not speculate about the cause of the collapse, but said workers were getting ready to take the crane down or were in the process of dismantling it.

"Why exactly that crane collapsed, that's a part of the investigation," he said.

"Obviously, something catastrophic occurred."

The RCMP are investigating to ensure the collapse was not criminal in nature and a WorkSafeBC investigation will also determine what occurred, he said.

One person who died had been taken to hospital, while the others died at the scene, MacIntosh said. The crane operator is believed to be among the dead, he said.

"Some of them were physically on or around the crane when it had collapsed."

The collapse knocked out power for most of Kelowna's downtown core and prompted an evacuation order for surrounding homes and businesses. Some people remained displaced from a neighbouring seniors residence on Tuesday, MacIntosh said.

The head of Mission Group, the development company building the residential tower, said Monday that he didn't know what caused the crane to fall.

Jonathan Friesen said the company's staff and subtrades were in a state of shock and grief counselling had been offered to anyone who needed it.

Premier John Horgan called the collapse tragic, saying it was "an event that, quite honestly, you don't expect to happen on a sunny July day here in British Columbia."

"Yet, it can happen," he told a news conference. "We need to redouble our efforts on workplace safety and any of the findings that WorkSafe brings forward or the coroner brings forward, we'll certainly be implementing right across the province.