Deadly Kelowna crane collapse still an active criminal investigation: RCMP

Almost a year after a downtown Kelowna tower crane collapsed, killing five men, the result of investigations into the tragedy have still not been released.

One of those is an RCMP investigation into possible criminal elements to the collapse.

“I can confirm the RCMP has an active criminal investigation, separate from the investigation being conducted by WorkSafeBC,” Sgt. Kevin Duggan, of Kelowna’s RCMP’s regional detachment, said in an email to iNFOnews.ca.

READ MORE: Memorial service planned for anniversary of Kelowna crane collapse

“Incident investigations are in-depth and the amount of time an investigation takes to complete is directly related to its complexity,” Alexandra Skinner, manager of government and media relations with WorkSafeBC, said in an email to iNFOnews.ca. “Although the WorkSafeBC investigation is well advanced, it is not possible to provide a specific date for the completion of the Incident Investigation Report, at this time.”

Four construction workers on the site — Cailen Vilness, Erick and Patrick Stemmer and Jared Zook — died. Brad Zawislak was killed inside a neighbouring building where he was working.

A memorial service for the workers will be held at the site on July 12, the one-year anniversary of the event, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Find past stories on the crane collapse here.

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