New footage has exposed one daredevil tradie putting his life on the line for a worksite stunt, raising alarms on social media over worker safety.
The stunt, captured in a 27-second TikTok clip by a man passing by in a car, shows a seemingly unphased construction worker dangling from the hook of a crane as it lowers a tree from a building.
@clubbinr8 Man was holding on for his life 😳 #perth #closecall #construction #southperth #crane #accident #osha #wa #australia ♬ original sound – Drew Boyer
“You are actually f**cking kidding me,” the man says in the background as the worker slowly makes his way back to earth.
According to the description, the footage was taken from a known construction zone on Mill Point Road in South Perth, WA.
Aussies outraged over safety concerns
Aussies were quick to flood the comment section, with many asking how the stunt could make it pass Australia’s safety watchdogs.
“I freely admit to having no idea about this sort of work, but surely this can’t be safe?” one person asked.
“Work Safe will love this video,” wrote another.
Tradies were also quick to call out the risky stunt, with some saying the company should lose their working license.
“I’m a rigger and I can comfortably confirm that this is indeed not normal,” one commenter responded.
“Heads will roll over this.”
“Someone’s losing their ticket,” said another.
“Not normal in Perth, been in construction for 15 years and never seen it,” added a third.
However, a small few discounted the “old school” move as simply part of the job and told distressed commenters to “calm down.”
“He wasn’t holding on for his life, his foot’s in a sling. He’s fine,” said one user.
“In the old days workers would always ride the hook to the top,” added another.
Never stand under a suspended load
According to Safe Work Australia, operating cranes is “complex and dangerous”, with injuries and deaths resulting from work involving cranes every year.
“With any crane, you have work health and safety (WHS) duties and must identify and manage risks,” the industry safety body says on its website.
On average, there are 240 serious injury claims involving cranes across the country every year.
While safety guidelines do differ slightly from state to state, Brisbane crane hire group Mighty Cranes say that suspended loads should never be lifted over people.
“Never walk or stand under a suspended load,” the company writes on their website.
“No matter how well you prepare for a lift, it will always be safer to be outside of the lifting area while the crane is operating.”
