Killed Queensferry Crossing worker entered unsafe area

A maintenance man working on the Queensferry Crossing was killed by the falling jib of a 18-tonne crane after going into an area he was not supposed to enter and 'involving himself' in the repair of the machine without being asked, a court heard yesterday.

John Cousin died on the new Queensferry Crossing

Worker John Cousin, 62, was killed on 28 April last year after sustaining “un urvivable injuries” when the 550 kg jib of a hired track crane fell on him.

“A fitter for the machine’s owners, Stewart Clark, was preparing to replace a leaking hydraulic hose at the time.

Isabelle Martin, the Health and Safety Executive’s principal inspector for the Scotland construction industry, yesterday described Mr Cousin as a “highly skilled and experienced fitter” during the closing stages of a fatal accident inquiry into his death.

But she said though Mr Cousin had worked on large machinery on construction projects, inspectors could find no evidence that he had any past experience of working on “small” cranes such as the one involved in the tragedy.

Miss Martin said the accident occurred when Mr Cousin removed a central pin securing the jib without being asked. She said Mr Clark had removed one of two pins securing the jib in order to move it slightly to get at the hose, but there had been nothing unsafe in the act.