Two workers have died after a large crane toppled onto a public road in Belas, Sintra, this morning, in the latest of a troubling series of fatal accidents involving cranes in Portugal.

The men, aged 38 and 40, were reportedly painting a residential building in Rua D. Inês de Castro when the crane they were working from overturned. They fell from a height equivalent to around six storeys.

According to reports, three people were involved in the work. The two men who died were Brazilian nationals, while a third worker survived because he was carrying out work at the rear of the building at the time of the accident.

The alarm was raised at 8.04am today (Wednesday), with 15 emergency personnel and six vehicles dispatched to the scene.

The PSP confirmed that the falling crane also damaged three vehicles parked in the street.

The circumstances that caused the crane to topple have yet to be established.

Council investigating work licence

Sintra Mayor Marco Almeida, who visited the scene, said the council was investigating whether the work had been properly licensed.

“We are also looking within the council into the licensing process for this work, which involves public space and therefore requires mandatory licensing from the council,” he told reporters.

Almeida stressed that it was too early to attribute responsibility for the accident.

“I don’t want to rush into making statements about who is responsible. That is not my role,” he said, adding that municipal services and other authorities, including the Authority for Work Conditions (ACT), had been mobilised to establish what happened.

The mayor said he had spoken to both the property owner and the contractor. According to information given to him at the scene, the crane had been “swaying considerably” before the accident, although Almeida stressed that determining its cause was a matter for technical experts and the relevant authorities.

The council will also provide psychological support to the victims’ families and to the worker who survived.

“I very much want to express my condolences to the families and thank all the operatives who are on the ground,” Almeida said.

Far from an isolated tragedy

Today’s deaths are the latest in a succession of serious accidents involving cranes in Portugal – a problem The Resident has highlighted repeatedly over recent years.

Only four months ago, two workers died in separate crane-related accidents within the space of around 48 hours in the Coimbra region.

On April 27, a worker was killed and another seriously injured after a crane collapsed at a construction site in Eiras, on the outskirts of Coimbra. The men were reportedly struck as the crane came down during an operation involving the movement of materials.

The following day, another worker died following a crane accident at a construction site in Figueira da Foz. He suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

And the incidents have not been confined to central Portugal.

The Resident has previously reported on two people being struck (one died) by a falling crane in Tavira, as well as major crane collapses in Porto and Figueira da Foz. Some caused extensive damage to surrounding buildings and homes, although fortunately not all resulted in deaths or serious injuries.

This month, two men aged 47 and 51 were also seriously injured when they were struck by a crane they were operating at a metal components company in Regueira de Pontes, Leiria. Both suffered multiple serious injuries and were taken to Santo André Hospital. The GNR and ACT attended the scene and opened investigations.

The repeated incidents underline the potentially devastating consequences when heavy lifting equipment fails or overturns, particularly on construction sites and in built-up areas where workers, residents, vehicles and passers-by may all be exposed.

In today’s accident, the fact that the crane toppled directly onto a public road adds another dimension to the investigation.

Attention will now turn to why the equipment overturned, the conditions in which the two men were working and whether all safety and licensing requirements were being observed.

Sintra Council’s investigation into the licensing of the work and the expected intervention of ACT should help establish whether the operation complied with the rules in force.