By DENISE MAYCOCK

and RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporters

A Dominican crane operator was killed in north Bimini yesterday after a 40ft beam he was attempting to move snapped his machine’s cable and crashed on to the crane’s cabin, fatally pinning him inside as the crane was engulfed in flames.

According to a police report, the incident occurred shortly after 9am when the crane operator was attempting to move the beam from a barge to a nearby dock.

A number of short videos of the tragedy appeared on social media yesterday, one of which showed firefighters attempting to extinguish a large blaze caused by the accident.

The crane operator was pronounced dead at the scene by local medical personnel.

The Tribune was told the deceased was working on the construction of the hurricane-damaged dock at the Bimini Bay resort and was reportedly employed at Bimini Bay for OPAC/Rav Bahamas. 

The dock at Bimini Bay sustained severe damage during Hurricane Irma last September and work was being undertaken to rebuild it. 

“Work was proceeding on the dock, and they were completing the final stages,” a resident told The Tribune. “The crane operator was lifting a concrete piling beam when the cable broke, and the beam landed on the crane. It burst into flames, and persons were unable to get him out.” 

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, did not know the victim’s name but had seen him around the town.

“I glimpsed him in the town, and I heard that he was married to a Bahamian woman in Nassau, but they had been divorced for over a year,” the resident said.  

According to the resident, many Mexicans and Dominicans are employed at the site operating heavy equipment.    

The police investigation continues.