Man hijacks crane
Police were called to the construction site on 10th Ave. S.W. at 7 a.m. after receiving a call from employees on the site that a man had climbed up the crane and entered the cab, locking himself inside it.
If the unidentified man was intending to somehow move or utilize the crane (okay, most aren’t mobile) he should have known that he’d be spotted. Making off with a crane? Rather like a giraffe trying to sneak out of a kennel full of dogs and cats.
By the time he reached the cab using it was a mute point as Calgary Police Acting Staff Sargeant Mike Saad said workers cut the power to the crane so it could not be operated. Police called in their negotiating team who also had to climb up the crane. The man was up there most of the morning.
“An unknown, unauthorized male had climbed up 340-feet, which is approximately 26 stories into the cab of a crane,” said Saad. “Police negotiators were very quickly dispatched to the scene and were able to contact this individual.
“There was no use of force on the subject at all,” he added. “Negotiators were very quickly able to talk him into voluntarily coming down.”
High-angle rescue
To effect bringing the man down the police called in the Calgary Fire Department, who brought in their ‘high-angle rescue team.’ Down the man, and everyone else, came. Police have yet to say what the guy was doing up there and Saad was only able to offer the obvious.
“From our understanding, he simply climbed up,” Saad said. “Calgary building inspectors are looking into that angle, and they’re checking to see if the construction business was compliant with all their safety regulation.”
The man wasn’t known to the company working the site. No word on charges but the daredevil crane climber’s actions forced the closure of a stretch of a road into the city, causing morning traffic problems.
