500-ton weight plunges from 30 metres at Japan steel mill, 3 dead, 1 missing

A 500-ton concrete counterweight fell from about 30 metres at a steel mill in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture on Tuesday, causing a scaffolding collapse and killing three workers, with one still missing after plunging into the sea.

The accident occurred around 4.15pm at the JFE Steel East Japan Works in the Keihin district. Workers were dismantling a large unloading crane used for handling iron ore when the cylindrical concrete counterweight, measuring six metres in diameter and nine metres long, fell for unknown reasons. Workers were operating heavy machinery to break up concrete on the counterweight at the time of the fall.

The impact destroyed nearby scaffolding and punched a large hole through a steel plate floor, with the suspected cause being the weight crashing through the opening into the sea below.

Four men were taken to hospital, with three later pronounced dead. One remains hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries. One male worker is still missing.

Rescue operations resumed at 7am on Wednesday, with Kanagawa prefectural police and the Kawasaki Coast Guard dispatching patrol boats and helicopters to search the waters around the site.

Kanagawa police have launched a criminal investigation to determine whether safety procedures during the high-risk dismantling operation were neglected and whether the crane showed signs of structural fatigue or fracture. JFE Steel said it would fully cooperate with the investigation, with dismantling work in the affected area suspended.