On the afternoon of May 25, 2025, a collapse accident occurred during the tower crane top-lifting operation at the construction site of Area A of the Jincheng Yunxi Commercial Complex Project in Zhang County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, resulting in three installation unit employees falling from a height. They were sent to the hospital for emergency treatment but unfortunately died.
The accident happened at a construction site in Area A of the Jincheng Yunxi Commercial Complex Project in Wuyang Town, Zhang County, Dingxi City. A “Jincheng Yunxi Phase I Area A Construction Project Planning Permit” publicly available on the official website of the Zhang County People’s Government shows that the project is located in Chengguan Village, Wuyang Town, Zhang County, and the construction unit is Gansu Zhangxian Minchen Real Estate Co., Ltd.
The preliminary investigation of the accident shows that during the process of the tower crane rising from the 23rd floor to the 25th floor, due to improper operation by the installation personnel, the top tower crane boom fell off, and the lifting arm struck the tower vertically, causing the tower crane to collapse. In addition, the on-site investigation found the following safety hazards:
- The tower crane limiter had malfunctioned half a month before the incident, and workers reported repairs multiple times without success;
- The tower crane standard section connecting bolts were not installed according to specifications (only 5 were installed instead of the required 8);
- Illegal hanging of advertising boards changed the center of gravity;
- The tower crane had been in use for more than 8 years and had not undergone stress testing as required.
Surveillance footage shows that the tower crane took only 17 seconds to go from tilting to complete collapse. The protective net was torn apart by steel bars and concrete counterweights. Among the three victims was a 24-year-old worker. One victim’s family member said that her brother had only been at the construction site for two days, had just celebrated the elderly’s birthday the day before yesterday, and took a family photo. They never expected such a tragedy to happen. Seeing the three blurry falling figures in the video, they felt both sad and angry. This was completely a murder!
