Santiago.-A crane operator identified as Arismendi Flores was rescued alive this Friday afternoon after being trapped following the overturning of the heavy equipment he was operating while placing a sign on Metropolitana Street, Los Jardines Metropolitanos sector of Santiago.
According to preliminary reports, Flores suffered injuries to his left ankle after being trapped inside the crane structure, which required a rapid and delicate intervention by emergency services, especially members of the Santiago Fire Department, who used specialized equipment to free him.
After being extracted, the worker was attended to by a unit of the National Emergency and Security System 911, which transported him to receive medical assistance.
As explained by Ovidio Guzmán, the accident occurred around 6:54 in the evening, at a time when the personnel were raising a sign. He indicated that the crane, which has four axles, would have lost stability when the two axles on the right side failed to properly support the weight, causing an opposing force that ended up overturning it.
“They were raising the sign when the crane overturned. Thank God, the firefighters arrived immediately and were efficient. We hope there is nothing serious to regret,” Guzmán expressed.
Meanwhile, General Alexis Moscat, from the Santiago Fire Department, valued the rapid response of the institutions integrated into the emergency system, highlighting the coordination between firefighters, the National Police, Civil Defense, 911 units, and volunteer brigades that participated in the operation.
Moscat highlighted that the success of the rescue did not depend on speed, but on the precision with which the maneuver was executed to bring the trapped operator out alive.
“The important thing in this type of rescue is not time, but patience and serenity. These are operations that require controlling public pressure and managing the emotional part of finding a person trapped without knowing in what conditions they will be extracted,” he stated.
The official also pointed out that, after concluding the operational phase, it will be up to the competent authorities to investigate what caused the heavy equipment to overturn, including whether the crane was properly stabilized at the time of the work.
The incident generated concern among residents and onlookers in the area, due to the spectacular nature of the accident and the risk involved in the operation with the sign and machinery in the middle of the road.
So far, the authorities have not offered additional details about the operator’s clinical condition, while the corresponding evaluations continue to determine the exact causes of the event.
