Drama on the construction site: crane driver rescued with rescue platform after emergency!

Drama on the construction site: crane driver rescued with rescue platform after emergency!

On September 24, 2025, a medical emergency occurred at around 9 a.m. on a construction site in Munich, where the operator of a 70-ton chain crane remained seriously ill in the cabin. The 61-year-old suffered sudden back pain and significant neurological deficits, which meant he was unable to get out of the machine on his own. The emergency services found him almost immobile and decided to ask the fire department for assistance.

The fire brigade arrived with a command vehicle, an emergency fire engine and a rescue vehicle. At the scene, the rescue team prepared a rescue platform to reach the patient. To facilitate access, a wheel loader with a pallet was brought in and it was necessary to dismantle parts of the cab and seat in order to carry out the rescue safely. The entire process took about an hour.

Rescue under difficult conditions

Rescuing the machine operator proved to be a challenge as the thick layer of mud on the construction site made the work difficult. After the successful rescue, the crane operator was rescued with a spineboard over the platform and the wheel loader and taken to a Munich clinic. The suspicion of a herniated disc placed additional strain on the rescuers, as medical care is extremely important in such situations.

The deployment of the rescue workers, consisting of experienced specialists in emergency services, was crucial. The emergency services include rescue specialists who have undergone special training in emergency rescue and qualified patient transport. In Germany there are various qualifications for non-medical emergency services personnel, such as emergency paramedics, who can have three years of training, as well as paramedics and paramedics.

Loud Destatis Around 85,000 people were employed in the emergency services in Germany in 2021. This number has increased by 71 percent over the last decade, highlighting the increasing need for skilled workers in this industry. In view of the high level of workload in the rescue service, which is considered a bottleneck profession, the training and further education of rescue specialists remains of great importance.

The rescue workers, both male and female, show through their efforts how important their ongoing training and qualifications are. This is not only relevant for operations like the one on the U 5 construction site, but also for general medical care in Germany, where emergency doctors and rescue specialists play a central role in emergency medicine.