Ipswich Town contractors rescued from platform

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service at the scene at Portman RoadImage source, George King/BBC
Image caption,

The lift at Portman Road was leaning at an angle

  • Published

Firefighters have been called to Ipswich Town's ground to rescue three contractors working on the stadium.

Crews were called to Portman Road at about 11:30 BST following an incident involving a scissor lift.

The lift was pictured in the air at an angle.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service station manager Alex Smith said the workers were stuck about 15m (about 50ft) in the air but were safely brought down.

Image source, George King/BBC
Image caption,

No-one was injured during the incident and the workers were brought down safely

"All three [workers] were rescued and brought down to ground level where they were checked over by our ambulance colleagues," he added.

"We're still on the scene at the moment because of the unsafe structure.

"We're just waiting for some specialist advice before we bring the scissor lift back down to ground level before we leave the scene."

Mr Smith said someone had "reacted very promptly" and moved a forklift to prop up the lift to support it and keep the workers safe.

The club's spokesperson said there were no injuries and the incident was dealt with in about 15 minutes.

"We are aware of a third-party contractor’s scissor being involved in an incident at Portman Road," the spokesperson said.

"Workmen on-site initially assisted until fire and rescue arrived very soon after.

"Everyone was soon taken down to safety and there are no reported injuries."

Work is ongoing at the stadium to prepare for the upcoming Premier League season.

Ipswich are back in the top league after 22 years, and Liverpool will be the visitors to Portman Road on Saturday.

More than 100 projects to improve the stadium have been ongoing, including the introduction of safe standing areas, increased capacity in the away end and work on the Sir Alf Ramsey stand.

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