Crane collapses into building under construction in Toronto’s east end

A crane collapsed into an under-construction building in Toronto’s east end on Thursday afternoon, police say.

It happened in the area of Vanderhoof Avenue and Brentcliffe Road, south of Eglinton Avenue East, just after 3 p.m.

As seen in CP24 chopper footage, the crane’s arm appears to have crumpled over the top of the building, with the end of the arm hanging over.

Police did not provide details on how the crane fell, but said there are no reported injuries at this time.

Toronto Fire Deputy Chief Jim Jessop told CP24 the crane operator was able to safely get out of the crane, adding that they brought two of their special technical operations on the scene in case they needed to repel up.

“(We’re) very lucky (the crane) fell the way it did and it did not fall into one of the occupied condominiums on the other side of it,” Jessop said.

Jessop says they have seen a number of crane collapses over the years, prompting fire services to develop a crane program for their technical operations squads.

“Part of a growing city, as we all know, we have more cranes in the sky than almost any city in North America right now combined,” Jessop said.

Vanderhoof Avenue is currently closed from Laird Drive and Brentcliffe Road.

Officers warn drivers to expect delays and urge them to consider alternate routes at this time.