Brave Driver Jumps 50 Feet From Burning Crane

Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a crane operator is forced to jump from 50 feet as a huge blaze engulfs the structure and crashes through a safety net being held by his colleagues.

The startling incident occurred at the port of the city of Haldia in the Indian state of West Bengal and was recorded by an onlooker.

Local media report the crane operator was working to unload coal when a fire suddenly started on the mobile harbour crane.

Picture Credits: AsiaWire

In the video, the operator, named in reports as 28-year-old Dravin Rai, can be seen standing on a ledge on the crane as a huge fire burns behind him.

A group of his colleagues are standing on the ground below to spread a safety net between them.

Rai then jumps down and crashes into the net and onto the ground from a height of around “50 feet”, according to reports.

He suffers a hard landing onto the ground and his colleagues work quickly to drag him away from the fire.

Rai was taken to a hospital in the city of Kolkata but District Magistrate Partha Ghosh confirmed he later died from injuries sustained in the fall.

Firefighters eventually brought the blaze under control and an investigation has been launched into the causes of the fire, which have not been determined.