On the first anniversary of the tragedy, a vigil is held today (July 8) for 85-year-old June Harvey, who was killed when a 60-foot crane fell on her home.
The neighbors return to Compton Close, next to the Watts Grove construction site in Bromley-by-Bow, at lunchtime to remember in front of their terraced house.
June’s niece Jacqueline and great-nephew Sam Atkinson, both injured when the tower crane fell through their roof on July 8th last year, are calling for answers for them and their neighbors after months in hotels and guest houses.
60 foot crane that fell through the roof of June Harvey’s home in Compton Close on July 8, 2020
– Credit: Sid Rahman
Their homes are still unsafe after 12 months and need to be rebuilt, resulting in potentially years of waiting to be returned.
Police and security investigations are now ongoing into the causes of the crane’s crash.
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“Your life has been turned upside down,” said Atkinson’s attorney Helen Clifford. “You still don’t know what went wrong or why.”
June Harvey at a family reunion
– Credit: Sid Rahman
Today’s first anniversary vigil for June is taking place in front of her destroyed house, organized by Families Against Corporate Killers and the Construction Safety Campaign. They are calling for justice for June to highlight the need for better crane safety.
Sam Atkinson said on the day he survived the crash, “I screamed for my mother and aunt and tried to push myself through the rubble, but it was impossible. The whole house crumbled around me. ”
The Watts Grove construction site.
– Photo credit: Mike Brooke
The security crisis was later raised in Parliament when MPs called for tougher action on construction cranes during a heated Commons debate in March.
