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Elderly couple cheat death after construction crane crashes onto roof

An elderly couple have had a terrifying near miss at their Melbourne home after a 33 tonne drilling rig crashed through the roof of their house.

Emergency crews rushed to Melbourne’s northwest on Tuesday afternoon after reports of the collapse.

Angry neighbours said it was an accident waiting to happen and had called their local council to complain.

The crane almost carved the Strathmore house in two, shattering the roof, smashing tiles and sending bricks flying.

Elderly couple's near miss after construction crane crushes roof of Melbourne home
The elderly couple were lucky to escape without injury when the crane collapsed on their roof. Source: 7News

Grandparents Stan and Avis Pierce were home when the rig toppled over around 3pm on Tuesday afternoon.

It had been used at a construction site next door and was being loaded onto the back of a semi-trailer when it fell.

Melbourne Fire Brigade’s Time Wadsworth described it as a “spectacular scene” with an “incredible amount of damage” done.

Neighbour Elizabeth Crowe rang the council on Monday to complain about the site.

“This tower that has been up there the last couple of weeks always looked like it was going to topple,” she said.

“This is not a surprise. This is like the catastrophe that was always going to happen.”

The couple who live in the home were not injured but were in shock and unable to access medication inside the house, which they are not able to re-enter.

They are staying with their next door neighbour while their daughter travels from interstate to be with them.

About 20 firefighters, including a specialist rescue team, will remain at the Woodland Street scene until the crane is removed.

A local council building surveyor and Worksafe officials also attended the scene.

The crane driver was not injured.