Construction accident leaves two in critical condition

Two men were admitted to Christiana Hospital yesterday in critical condition after the boom-life they were working on at the Gavilon Grain Silos facility in Townsend toppled and fell.

The 32-year-old New Castle man and the 38-year-old Milford man doing maintenance work on the conveyer belt on top of the grain silo were working from the platform basket of the boom-lift raised 40 feet from the ground, said Sgt. Paul Shavack, a spokesman for the Delaware State Police Department.

When one of the workers tried to reposition the lift by putting it in reverse, one of its wheels traveled down a small embankment near the railroad tracks, causing it to lose its center of gravity and topple backwards, Shavack said.

The lift fell across the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and the men landed about ten feet away on a gravel surface.

Both men were wearing safety harnesses, but police said that at the time they are not sure if they were secured to the platform.

They were taken by helicopter to Christiana Hospital Trauma Center and admitted in critical condition.

Source: Kim Manahan, Middletown Transcript