POLICE negotiators have safely brought down one man from a crane six storeys above ground after initial reports that two men had commandeered the machine on the construction site of BMA Medical Centre in Richards Bay earlier this morning.
This follows reports of a possible hostage situation after the man refused to come out of the crane when workmen arrived on site reportedly holding the crane driver hostage.
He had climbed up the crane on Sunday and was barricaded in the tower six floors up before eventually being talked down by negotiators after approximately one hour.
The man had reportedly told hostage negotiators that he was accompanied by another person but when IPSS and SAPS members took harnesses up and unlocked the crane door, they only found one person.
It is believed the other was an ‘imaginary friend’.
The busy street had been cordoned amid fears of potential serious damage to life and property.
The man was taken to the Richards Bay police station. It is not known at this stage whether a charge will be laid or whether he will be sent for psychiatric evaluation.
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