Edmonton-area family mourning son killed in Kelowna crane collapse

Edmonton -

An Edmonton-area family is grieving the loss of their son who was killed in Monday's crane collapse in Kelowna, B.C., according to a GoFundMe page. 

Pam and Steven Zook from the Edmonton area lost their son Jared Zook in the Monday's tragedy, reads the page that's fundraising for funeral and travel expenses. 

"Our family is devastated by the loss of our fun, kind and loving son/brother/friend/nephew/cousin," it reads. 

"Our lives are infinitely better for having him be apart of them."

The Zooks declined further comment. 

Mounties confirmed Tuesday that four men, all workers at the same construction site, died in the incident.

A fifth man working in an adjacent building is believed to be dead after being buried in rubble. Police say they expect to retrieve his body as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

Another person at the construction site was taken to hospital with minor injuries and later released.

'SCARIEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN'

The crane collapse forced an area of Kelowna's downtown to be evacuated on Monday morning.

The accident, which damaged several buildings in the area of Bernard Avenue and St. Paul Street, also prompted officials to declare a local state of emergency in the Okanagan city.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene in which workers tried to get out of harm's way as the crane was coming down.

"It was the scariest thing I've ever seen," said Miriam Halpenny. "I was talking to another woman who said she saw a man falling from the top."

Hours after the incident, Kelowna RCMP confirmed that more than one person was killed, but said they were "releasing limited information" on the extent of the tragedy, in part because authorities were still working to notify next of kin.

"Not all persons have been properly identified, and so right now, all we can tell you is that there have been multiple fatalities from people in that area," Insp. Adam MacIntosh said.

'CATASTROPHIC FAILURE'

The crane collapse happened at the Brooklyn construction site run by developer Mission Group. The company described the incident as a "catastrophic failure (in which) a crane fell during the dismantling process."

Mission Group CEO Jonathan Friesen would not confirm how many people had died, but said all confirmed fatalities had been working on the high-rise residential construction project.

"The deceased individuals were working on the site. I can confirm that they were not Mission Group employees,” Friesen said. “That does not change the fact that people died today. So, let's all keep that in mind."

Friesen confirmed more than a hundred people were working on the site at the time of the collapse. He said the crane was contracted from another company but declined to name that business.

“Our corporate priority is, of course, for the safety of all of our workers. And we want them to go home at the end of the day healthy and safe,” he said. “That did not happen today. And so, once again, any words I could come up with pale in the shadow of so great a loss for these families.”

The top of the crane fell from the construction site, striking a neighbouring office building and a senior's home. Part of the crane was left standing.

"Obviously, it had gone through the roof of the building next door and they were desperately trying to get the crane operator out,” said Jorma Jyrkkanen, a civilian who rushed into the area to see if he could help. “They managed to get him out. His face was all covered in blood. And they were screaming get back! Get back!"

Video shot in the moments after the collapse shows one construction worker climbing down the crane tower to a cross beam attached to the building – and then shimmying across to safety.

"It was just nearly like watching a movie,” said Tracy Johnson, who rushed out of her office after hearing the impact. “You don’t really register what he just did until afterwards.”

The 75-meter portion of the crane still standing is precariously attached to the building with some of the support beams clearly twisted and damaged.

Police are expected to provide a further update on Tuesday afternoon.