VIDEO: Brazilian stevedore’s lucky crane fire escape captured

Seatrade Maritime News has just obtained the shaky smartphone footage after reporting the scary incident at the Port of Itaqui in São Luís in the northern state of Maranhão late last month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXt1CLCdKgM

The video shows the crane operator calmly surveying his escape options as toxic smoke billows skyward from the crane which burst into flames as it was discharging coal from the South Korean-owned, Panama-flagged bulk carrier Nord Trust.

A port worker can be seen phoning for help at the foot of the crane and the operator was eventually rescued by fellow stevedores.

The outcome of a Maranhão Port Authority investigation, launched in the immediate aftermath of the fire, has yet to be disclosed.