Haute-Savoie: the boom of the crane at the Grands Montets construction site broke in two, no injuries

It is an extremely rare and impressive event, fortunately without human consequences, which occurred this Wednesday in Chamonix. On the reconstruction project of the Grands Montets sitethe arrow of the crane anchored on the Grands Montets needle at an altitude of 3,200 m broke in two during a defrosting operation under the eyes of stunned and, for some, shocked workers, Mathieu Dechavanne, director of the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, reports to France Bleu Pays de Savoie. In its fall, a piece of crane hit the wall and detached rocks, but no one was injured.

Too early to say how this event will impact the calendar, but the damaged crane is essential for the construction of the new cable car arrival station. The Grands Montets project, started last spring, aims to rebuild the cable car of the same name which was destroyed by a fire in September 2018, making the summit of the area inaccessible for several years. The cost of building the new cable car is estimated at nearly 150 million euros. It must be put into service in winter 2026.

What exactly happened?

• “After six days of bad weather, snow and wind on the Grands-Montets peak, the teams in charge of the cable car reconstruction work were able to access the site located at an altitude of 3,300 m this Wednesday morning,” indicates the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc in a press release
• “The equipment de-icing operations began at 12 p.m., and in particular for the luffing jib crane. At 12:45 p.m., after the “cleaning” of the counter jib and the walkways, when the jib was placed horizontally to to facilitate de-icing operations, the arrow broke in the central part; it came to rest in the immediate vicinity of the terrain, on the mountainside”
• “The personnel present on this site were withdrawn to the life bases located at 2,200 m in order to “debrief” this near accident”
• “The boom of the crane which is wedged on the side of the mountain has been secured and will be inspected by air (drone or helicopter) in the hours or days to come. At the end, and depending on the diagnosis, it will be stored or secured for the winter – also depending on the weather conditions”