A cherry picker was seen toppled over this morning, while a few people in work gear milled around behind a police barrier and police directed traffic around the easternmost lane.
Greater Sudbury Police Service report receiving a call regarding a “serious industrial incident” in the area at 9:50 a.m.Aside from clarifying that one person has been transported to the hospital in critical condition, police noted that no further information would be released regarding the individual as they were uncertain as to whether their family had been informed.
A City of Greater Sudbury spokesperson later confirmed that the incident involved a contractor for the city.*Officers and detectives remained on the scene and were working in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and the City of Greater Sudbury.
The silos were being worked on in preparation for a 111th anniversary celebration planned for later this year in which a lights display is expected to be projected onto the silos. Crews were on site to clean it up in preparation for the display.
“The proposed lighting display work requires the site is cleaned up, with removal of trees and vegetation, repairs and reworking supports for the fencing, repairs and sealing off access to crawl space, and the removal and scaling of loose concrete and bricks at height,” according to a business case for the lighting display approved by city council during 2022 budget deliberations.
A mural was initially planned for the silos, but the structure was in such disrepair that it was deemed unsafe to have artists work on the structure.
In the business case, it’s also noted: “The removal of all brick and mortar from the top of the silos is a health and safety concern. Heavy storm events and windy conditions blow rather large sections of loose debris off the silos and at times, the pieces land beyond the fence line creating an unsafe environment.”
That clarified, a toppled cherry picker would unlikely relate to this established health and safety concern.
Police report that their investigation is ongoing.
*Edit: This sentence was added after the story was initially published after new information came forward from the city.
