(CNN Philippines) — Pedestrians and commuters have been advised to avoid the EDSA corner Aurora Boulevard portion of the major thoroughfare on Friday (May 29) as a damaged crane poses a threat to pedestrians and vehicles passing by the area.
A part of the broken crane has been hanging from the topmost level of a condominium still under construction since Friday afternoon and may fall off any time.
The structure, Vivaldi Residences, is owned by property developer Eurotowers International.
Should the part break off, it may hit the busy pedestrian sidewalk beside the northbound lane of EDSA, where buses and cars ply.
It could also fall on the rooftop of the building beside the construction site — which housed the former ACT theater.
The situation caused panic among pedestrians, prompting authorities to temporarily close a portion of the sidewalk.
According to the officer on the case, PO3 Ronnie Ereño of Quezon City Police District (QCPD), the cordoning of the area was just SOP for a dismantling procedure.
Ereño said the project engineer, a certain Reynaldo Farrios, told him that workers were about to remove the crane from the site by pieces.
The project engineer added the broken portion was tightly attached to main body of the crane by several hooks — which was a way of saying that the situation posed any danger to pedestrians.
The construction of the 42-storey mixed residential and condotel tower started in 2011 after the Quezon City local government issued a Green Building Certificate.
As of posting time, traffic flow on both lanes of EDSA-Cubao was moderate to heavy.
