Right from the start you just know it’s all going to go drastically wrong, the way the machine is set up, the positioning of the dipper arm, the length of the strops and add to that the sheer weight of the block he is trying to lift out of the hole when he still has the bucket attached could only lead to disaster.

This operator was very lucky to escape serious injury or worse! I just hope the guys who were in the excavation attaching the lifting gear had come out before the lift started.