Crane was certified twice in past months

Investigators have yet to determine what caused a crane boom to collapse onto the new parliament building’s scaffolding at City Gate, Valletta, on Monday morning. Sources indicated that all possibilities, including that of mechanical failure or operator error, were still being considered at this stage. The crane boom collapsed while hauling concrete at about 10.45am. It crashed into the northeast-facing scaffolding erected around the new parliament building. No damage was done to the building itself and a spokesman for Vassallo Builders, the contractor responsible for the crane, said yesterday that the crane had documented safety records. “The crane was certified twice within the past months and had passed both its VRT and engineering tests. The employee operating the crane at the time was also fully certified and licensed,” the spokesman said. Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation CEO Chris Paris said it was too early to draw conclusions as engineering experts were still working out what exactly had gone wrong. With the parliament building emerging unscathed and works delayed by just a few hours, the financial cost of the accident is expected to be negligible. The cost of any...