Tributes to ‘lovely’ aunt, 85, killed in London crane collapse as nephew tells of screams as house crumbled around them
TRIBUTES have been paid to the “lovely” aunt who was killed by a falling crane yesterday as her nephew told of the “fear and shock of having your house collapse around you”.
She has today been named by her family as 85-year-old June Harvey.
The 65ft crane fell on houses and flats in Bow, East London, at around 2.30pm yesterday.
Firefighters using drones found June’s body on the first floor of a house – but are still working to recover it almost 24 hours later.
The Fire Brigade has warned it will be a “protracted operation” and residents won’t be able to return home while the investigation is ongoing.
Four people were also hurt when the crane collapsed. A construction worker remains in hospital in critical condition.
Sharing a video of the horror, June’s nephew Sam Atkinson wrote on Facebook: “Watching this video and listening to our screams makes it all seem real.
“The fear and shock of having your house collapse around you, not being up to get to your loved ones because the whole staircase is full of rubble is unexplainable.
“Today we will start to look for answers into why and how this happened. Words can’t describe how devastated we all are.”
Paying tribute to June, Jade Lote wrote: “June was such a lovely lady. My mum worked with her years ago. RIP June xxx”
Friend Linda Martin said: “Sam I can’t believe this has happened. I am lost for words.
“The trauma you and mum have gone through is unbelievable and to think poor June lost her life in this awful way! Thinking of you all.”
The 20-metre crane fell on a site where flats were being constructed, and crashed into two terraced houses in Compton Close, Bow.
Rahana Rahman, 26, lives in a terraced house on the row smashed by the crane and said it felt like an “earthquake”.
The lawyer said: “The whole house shook so much and I can hear my mum just screaming because I was the only one upstairs.
“She thought that it had hit me. The doors were all closed but literally it was just smoke everywhere.
“If I had been in the bathroom, the attic would have come down on me. It would have knocked me out.”
Footage showed a large crowd gathered in the area as neighbours were ordered to evacuate their houses.
Basil Long, 39, lives opposite the construction site in Gale Road where the crane came down.
He said: “It was a real shock, I saw it fall. I had actually been in the bedroom at the time.
“I literally saw it topple over. It was terrifying.”
A cordon is expected to remain in place for the next few days.
It is understood the crane was still in the process of being erected when it collapsed.
A large part of the roof could be seen to be completely caved in on one of the houses.
The crane that collapsed was being used by Swan Housing Association and NU living, and appeared to be a Wolff crane.
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A spokeswoman for Swan Housing Association and NU living said they are “deeply saddened by an incident that has occurred at our Watts Grove development site this afternoon”, adding: “Our staff are on site to provide support to the emergency response and the investigation.”
Work on the Watts Grove site began in 2018 where the one, two and three-bed shared ownership apartments are replacing an electrical substation building, according to the NU living website.
A spokeswoman for Tower Hamlets said a rest centre has been set up to help people who have been evacuated and accommodation is being provided to those who need it.