Mother hit by Burdett Road bricks has died

IT WAS ANNOUNCED at 3pm this afternoon that Michaela Boor died in hospital this morning.

Ms Boor had taken her son to primary school on Tuesday and was returning home when a pallet of bricks fell from a crane, knocking her unconscious. Passers-by came to her immediate assistance and the emergency services, including paramedics, were on the scene very quickly.

There are reports that Ms Boor had become engaged just days ago to her partner of four years, Andy Murgatroyd, and that the accident happened the day before her 29th birthday. Ms Boor’s father has worked as a bricklayer for 20 years and his employers have set up a fundraising page to help the family.

The crane was working on a building site at the corner of Burdett Road and St Paul’s Way where developers Higgins Homes are building a block of 19 luxury flats. Steve Boreham, their construction director, issued a statement after the accident expressing the company’s regret that the victim had been injured and confirming that the company would co-operate with the HSE investigation.

Photographs taken shortly after the incident show the netting which had been around the pallet of bricks hanging, torn, from the crane. It is not yet clear whether the torn netting played a part in the bricks falling or whether it is a result of other methods of securing the load having failed.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating and work on the site has been stopped for the moment. Tower Hamlets CID are also investigating the incident, in consultation with the HSE.

Tower Hamlets Council has not yet posted a comment on the accident on its website, but Mile End Councillor Shah Alam, who is a member of the PATH group, has said that he has asked the Council to look into health and safety at the site. He lives near the site and has said that he has never seen barriers or hazard notices near the site, and he also believes that there were no staff on the pavement to steer pedestrians clear of its path when the accident happened.

Police have now confirmed that the second person given medical treatment at the site was suffering from shock.

•To donate to the fund set up by Ms Boor’s father’s employers, Maytrix Construction, go to:
Fund for the Boor family

•Anyone who has information about the incident or who witnessed it is asked to contact Tower Hamlets CID via 101 and to quote reference CAD 2050/27MAR.

•Read more about this story:
Woman injured as bricks fall from Mile End Crane

•Read more community stories:
SEND Day raises awareness
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