Incredible and perhaps miraculous scene in Marchienne-au-Pont, west of Charleroi, this Friday.
Two people waiting for the bus at the Pont-du-Creusot stop were crushed by a 35-tonne crane. It was around 1:30 p.m. The bus stop is located just above a railway bridge, and a semi-trailer transporting a crane to a nearby construction site made a serious mistake: the transported machine hit the bottom of the bridge, fell from the trailer to lie on the sidewalk… right on top of the two people who were waiting!
Lucky in their misfortune, the two victims who were there – residents of the neighborhood – were saved by the wall directly behind them: the 35-tonne crane was partially stopped by the surrounding concrete slab wall, then stopped by the reinforcing wall. The crane then “landed” on the two pedestrians, blocking them in place but without completely crushing them.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, both victims were conscious. Two SMURs, two ambulances, the firefighters of the Hainaut-Est rescue zone and the local police of Charleroi then tried everything to extricate them.
With cushions, the firefighters of Marcinelle under the orders of Lieutenant Vannieuwenhoven and Major Flemal were able to free the first person, blocked at the level of the arm and the head. She was transported to a hospital, with several injuries at first sight rather qualifying as “light”.
The extrication of the second victim was more complex. Stuck at the level of the pelvis, the legs on the street side, the torso on the sidewalk, with the caterpillars of the crane across the body, she was finally able to be released shortly following 3 p.m., and taken by ambulance to hospital under the escort of motorcyclists of the font. There, the injuries are more serious, but according to the first elements collected on the spot, there would be no danger of death.