Mall construction halted after crane collapse
Segundina Cavan, 76, shows a portion of her house that was damaged after the crane fell on it.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
Work on the two-story mall along Natalio Bacalso Avenue in Cebu City was halted yesterday on orders of the Office of the Building Official (Obo) a day after a crane collapsed on four houses and injured a woman.
Obo acting chief Josefa Ylanan said she has directed the Metro Dyna Build Incorporated (MDBI), the contractor of CityMall, to submit an incident report and to explain why its crane suddenly collapsed.
“In the meantime, I gave an order to suspend all the works until such time they will be able to explain, do something about the crane and the affected areas,” she said in an interview.
The crane of the ongoing mall construction collapsed past 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Elenita Navasca, 32, was playing with her five-year-old niece inside their bedroom when she heard a loud thud followed by the lights suddenly turning off. She immediately ran out of the room with the child, she said.
The incident happened so fast that Navasca did not notice she was injured in the knee. She was brought by rescuers to the Cebu City Medical Center for treatment.
“It was only when I returned home and saw the crane inside our room that I felt afraid,” said Navasca in Cebuano.
Her aunt Segundina Cavan, who owns the four houses that were damaged, appealed to MDBI to compensate them.
The family pegged the damage caused by the fallen crane at about P1 million.
Cavan said she was fortunate she was outside her house when the crane collapsed.
At least ten children who lived in the four damaged houses were watching television in one of the rooms that was spared by the incident.
Joseph Toreja, assistant engineer of MDBI, assured the affected families of their help.
“What happened was an accident. We promise to shoulder the expenses and to pay for the damages incurred,” he said in an interview.
Toreja said the crane was rented by MDBI from a heavy equipment company and was empty when it collapsed on Wednesday night.
“Actually, that crane is not brand new. (But) the operator was surprised when it suddenly collapsed,” Toreja said.
Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo, chairperson of the City Council’s committee on infrastructure and urban planning, visited the construction site yesterday and vowed to investigate the incident.
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