Memorial growing for victims of Kelowna crane disaster | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Memorial growing for victims of Kelowna crane disaster

Jared Zook's father adds to his son's memorial.

A small memorial to Jared Zook – one of five men killed when a crane collapsed in Kelowna on Monday – is slowly growing as people visit the area and want to pay their respects.

A poster of a Canadian flag says BUILDING CANADA while a smaller one contains pictures of the 23-year-old and says “In Loving Memory of Jared Zook – Our Bear Forever.”

Shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday, July 14, his father taped a message to the wall where bouquets of flowers have been placed.

He was too upset to say much, other than that Jared and the family are from Edmonton and Jared has lived in Kelowna for the past two years.

“Many of us, especially our peers in the industry are struggling with the magnitude of the recent tragedy in Kelowna,” Les Bellamy, owner of Bellamy Homes posted on his Facebook page. “We recognize this is not just a Kelowna story, but a story of the risks construction workers across Canada take to provide all of us with homes, hospitals, and grocery stores.

“As our office is next door to this event, we have watched many people show up with flowers in hand and no idea what to do with them. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I watched family members of one of the victims place a small sign and some flowers as close to the site as possible.

“As a show of solidarity and respect for our peers in this industry, we have placed this marker and encourage all our construction Sisters and Brothers to bring their jiffy markers and sign the flag.”

The memorial can be accessed by an alleyway off Doyle Avenue between St. Paul and Bertram Streets.

Five bouquets have been inserted to the metal fencing blocking off St. Paul Street nearby.

Crews removed the top three sections of what remains of the crane by early afternoon yesterday. The next section is just above braces to the building where one worker shimmied to safety on Monday.

More than 100 people have been evacuated from homes and businesses are closed until the crane can be safely removed. There has been no official word on when they may be able to return, though several homes on Bernard Avenue were reopened this morning.

GoFundMe campaigns have been launched for the four construction workers who died.

READ MORE: Donations for families of workers killed in Kelowna crane collapse climb to almost $200K

As of this morning, more than $207,000 has been donated and a construction company at the Site C hydro-electric project near Fort St. John will be providing information to their workers – some of whom operate similar machinery there – because they want to donate.

None of the names of the victims have been officially released.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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