Accident | Excerpt: Too many operators were responsible for the fallen mast of summer clubs

In summer clubs Too many actors were responsible for a mast falling on a person, says the Accident Investigation Center (Otkes). In my opinion, this prevented lowering the mast when the safety situation required it.

An accident happened last Saturday at the Summer Clubs organized in Pudasjärvi, where the mast of the temporary base station broke and fell due to a sudden strong gust of wind. A woman fell under the mast and later died of her injuries in the hospital.

There were also other people in the immediate vicinity of the mast who were in danger of falling under it.

Mast was a link station of two different operators. The pole installation was purchased as a service from a different company.

I took the leader Kurt Kokko states in the announcement that lowering the mast would have required a separate permit from the operators of the subcontracting chain. Not all operators could be reached quickly enough, even though the organizer was aware of the strong weather.

“There were now so many operators that the event organizer was unable to manage the overall safety related to the mast,” Kokko says in the announcement.

According to Otkes, the organizer should have the opportunity to make decisions regarding all structures in the event area.

Otkes also emphasizes that when choosing the location of the mast, more attention should have been paid to safety factors, such as the fact that even though the place was on the edge of the event area, it was still busy. For example, maintenance facilities and toilets were located in the area. There should also have been a wider security area around the post.

An excerpt also points out that event organizers should be prepared for the possibility of sudden strong winds. Otkes emphasizes that the event organizer’s safety management includes monitoring and reacting to the weather.

Otkes does not launch a safety investigation into the incident.