Hundreds gather to honour men killed in Kelowna crane collapse

Vancouver -

Hundreds of people gathered in Kelowna on Friday evening to remember the five men killed in a crane collapse.

Friends and family members spoke of the men who died, and many at the vigil wore safety vests or fluorescent yellow to honour the workers who were killed. Some laid flowers near the scene of the tragedy and others lit candles.

The crane, which collapsed on July 12, killed four workers on the construction site and one man in a neighbouring building.

Michelle Kienas, who was in a building next door to the site of the collapse, attended the event.

“I thought I was processing it better than I was but when I got down here, it really hit home,” she said.

“All these people have family and friends and the communities that come together to support them … everyone should be supporting them.”

After the collapse, many in the surrounding area were ordered to evacuate and a local state of emergency was declared. However, on July 15 part of the evacuation order was lifted and some businesses were able to resume operation.

It is not yet known what caused the collapse, and investigations are being conducted by both the local RCMP detachment and officials with WorkSafeBC, the province's workers' compensation board.