My wife clings to me: crane hero
Hero crane driver Glen May receives a bravery award but says his wife won't let him go back to work after a fire caused the crane to crash on a UTS building site.
- Autoplay OnOff
- Video feedback
- Video settings
"My wife of 30 years ... we've never been so close," said Glen May. "She's clung to me for two weeks."
An emotional Mr May, the crane driver who helped prevent a blazing crane from collapsing on a busy street in Broadway last month, has been given the inaugural John Owens bravery award.
Mr May fought a blaze in the cabin before manoeuvring the crane so that its jib fell on a UTS building, rather than on hundreds of fellow workers and pedestrians below.
Three heroes ... NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson congratulates (from left) Glen May, Gordon Cameron and Nuno Nunes at an awards ceremony to honour their bravery. Photo: Wolter Peeters
"I am glad there were no lives taken," he said after being given the award by NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson. "There were a lot of heroes out there on that day, starting with my workmates."
Also recognised at the Sydney Trades Hall were the crane's dogman, Nuno Nunes, who worked from the ground to help Mr May manoeuvre the crane jib, and union delegate Gordon Cameron.
CFMEU state secretary Brian Parker praised "the bravery of these three blokes standing behind me".
Glen May fought a blaze in the cabin before manoeuvring the crane so that its jib fell on a UTS building, rather than on hundreds of fellow workers and pedestrians below. Photo: Nick Moir
"The hundreds of lives that they saved, not only the 150 workmates in their workplace, but also the fact that they saved the lives of the public and the motorists, was an incredible task," he said.
Mr Nunes said: "Whatever happened, we all worked together and we all pulled together. As soon as we realised we had a dangerous situation on our hands, we didn't even think about it, we just did what we had to do," he said.
Mr Nunes, who has worked in the industry for 16 years, said the immensity of what happened on November 27 only became clear when he got home that night and saw the incident on television. "It all sort of hit me a bit. I haven't looked at it again and I don't want to."
As for Mr May, he has yet to return to work.
"At this stage, [my wife] is quite happy me being at home," he said. "As I say, I'm lucky to get out today."
The award was named in honour of John Owens, a union activist who was known for his work protecting building workers, who died on September 20.
No comments:
Post a Comment