Fall River Workers Escape Injury in Shipping Container Mishap

Two Fall River building inspectors are lucky to be alive after they narrowly missed being crushed by falling shipping containers at the state pier on Friday. Nonetheless, the mishap damaged a museum building at Battleship Cove and knocked out power to the Braga Bridge.

Friday morning around 9:30 a.m., the Fall River Fire Department and Director of Inspectional Services Glenn Hathaway responded to the area after reports that two large metal shipping containers toppled. The falling containers had snapped a utility pole, and the pole pierced the museum building that houses that PT Boat exhibit, reports the Fall River Herald News.

While at the site, three more Atlantic Shipping Company containers, each weighing up to 8,000 pounds, fell to the ground. They were reportedly on stacks that were five containers high.

Hathaway and a colleague ran away and narrowly avoided being crushed. "My wife was almost a widow," he told a reporter.

A wind gust clocked at 72 miles per hour in Fall River on Friday, according to Fire Capt. Neil Furtado. Power was restored to Battleship Cove and the Braga Bridge on Saturday.

Hathaway said he called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to report the incident and to investigate whether the containers were properly stacked and secured. Automobiles staged on the state pier for transport to Cape Verde were also reportedly crushed.