By Brendan Rees
Thousands of homes were left without power after a crane toppled and landed onto a power substation in Clyde North on Wednesday 25 September.
Emergency services were called to the construction site on Berwick – Cranbourne Road, near Bunnings Warehouse, where the crane had upended and taken out power lines about 3pm.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said one person was treated by paramedics but not taken to hospital.
About 30,000 homes across were without power in Clyde, Clyde North, Cranbourne North, Cranbourne East and Cranbourne.
Department of Transport confirmed more than 20 sets of traffic lights were also blacked out resulting in police directing traffic.
An AusNet Services spokeswoman said power was restored to all affected homes by 10.20pm.
In a statement AusNet Services said power was switched off to the area for safety reasons.
Firefighters from Clyde fire brigade were at the scene until 5am the next morning while Narre Warren SES provided generator-powered lighting.
Sergeant Roger Child of Cranbourne Police said it was not known what had caused the crane to flip but believed it had “over balanced” while hauling concrete panels.
He said police were initially called to reports of a man trapped but he had managed to free himself by the time they arrived.
“The crane driver wasn’t injured, shaken but not injured,” he said.
“This will take a substantial amount of time to get the crane off and work out what damage is actually occurred to the switching gear,” he said, just hours after the incident.
“We’ve got a 100 tonne crane coming to lift a 60 tonne crane.”
A shocked bystander, who wished to remain anonymous, said his uncle owned the crane but declined to comment further.
In a statement WorkSafe said they were investigating.
