Residents in Minnamurra Street were shocked last evening when an unmanned crane on the Collins Street construction site swung unexpectedly and ended up with its chains caught on the roof of a house.

“I stepped out last night between 5.40 and 6pm to pick up my son and that’s when the crane came around and hit our roof,” says Christine Buurman, who runs a music school at the house.

“My guitar teacher who was there at the time said she heard a really loud noise. Then a neighbour who saw it came over and got her out of the house.

“I then got the phone call saying the crane had hit our house and stopped on the roof.”

Another resident on Minnamurra Street who was home last night says they saw the crane moving towards the house. 

“At about 6pm last night I heard a noise and looked out the window and saw the crane coming towards us with a weight right at the end and chains hanging off,” says the resident.

“It was very loud as the chains were so long that they were dragging on the ground. 

“It went over the power line and luckily didn’t hit our house but went over the neighbour’s roof and got stuck there.

“Luckily their house was not too bad. It’s a miracle it didn’t do more damage.”

The neighbour called the construction site’s manager, from Orwell Constructions, who responded immediately and met with the residents. 

“Apparently there was a new crane operator who hadn’t closed up properly and the hook was lowered and the chain was still on it as well,” says Christine.

“The hook and chain was there for probably half an hour while they worked out how to raise it off our roof and then they were able to move the crane away.”

The incident has brought back initial concerns about the adjacent building work.

“When the construction was going up my biggest fear was the crane going over our house and I soon learnt that there is nothing to be concerned about because there’s safety procedures in place,” says the other Minnamurra Street resident.

“At night the weight that is connected to the crane is allowed to move freely but last night it was right at the tip of the crane which should never be there.

“If the weight was halfway along it would have come through our sunroom window or if our cars were out the front of the house they would’ve been hit.

“And there’s never been anything lifted over our home but last night there was some negligence and it could’ve been far worse. We’re so grateful there wasn’t more damage and someone wasn’t hurt.”

We have contacted Orwell Constructions for comment.