The developer of the Trump Tower is blaming faulty equipment for a close call that saw a large glass pane plummet onto the street in downtown Vancouver this week.
The glass was being installed on the 59th floor of the 63-storey tower Tuesday afternoon when it fell and shattered into pieces on Georgia Street.
No one was injured but one nearby vehicle was damaged.
Construction manager Allan Beron said the accident appears to have been caused by equipment failure, but the details are still under investigation.
“That equipment has been taken out of service. We won’t know the exact cause still for a few days,” Beron said.
No evidence of human error has turned up, according to the developer.
There was a safety zone set up around the site when the glass fell, but Beron said he believes traffic was still flowing on Georgia at the time.
“From what I understand, fortunately there was just a lull in cars – there just happened to be no cars on the street at the time,” he said.
The developer has submitted an incident report to the City of Vancouver, which issued a stop work order on the Trump Tower project Wednesday.
Pat Ryan, chief building official for Vancouver, said a building inspector and senior staff member were sent to the site immediately after the accident, and a response is underway.
“They’re currently working on the report of what happened and coming up with a series of mitigating measures to ensure it cannot happen again,” Ryan said.
“These occurrences are very rare but we do treat them very seriously and we do take action.”
Work is expected to resume on Trump Tower in a couple of days.
The developer is also working with WorkSafe BC to review procedures.
The $360 million Trump Tower is being built by developer Holborn Group, and is scheduled for completion in fall 2016.
