Kelowna crane collapse victims to be remembered at vigil Friday

KELOWNA (NEWS 1130) — Hundreds of people are expected to gather Friday night in Downtown Kelowna, to honour the five men killed Monday when a crane collapsed.

Four of the victims were construction workers at the high-rise building. They have been identified as brothers Eric and Patrick Stemmer, from Salmon Arm, Zarek Zook from Edmonton, and Cailen Vilness from Kitimat.

Brad Zawislak has been identified as the fifth victim. Originally from Manitoba, Zawislak leaves behind two daughters, and his wife Helen. He was working in the office building next door when the crane collapsed Monday morning.

Brad Zawislak was inside the office building Monday when the crane collapsed. He leaves behind his wife Helen (left) and two children. (Courtesy: Hoodoo Adventure Company)

The Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Task Force was deployed from Vancouver to search the rubble, and his body was found late Tuesday night. A fundraiser has been set up for his family.

The vigil Friday will be the first time since the collapse that the community has gathered at the construction site to remember those killed, and many family members have been invited.

Kelly Hutchinson, with North Okanagan Labour Council, is among those organizing the vigil.

He says the council felt it had to do something, to remember this tragedy and the five men who died in it.

“The vigil is for the victims, the families, but also for the broader community for their mourning and grieving,” he said Friday morning.

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Even though he did not know the men personally, he says in the Okanagan, everyone is impacted by what happened.

“It’s been an emotional week,” he said, noting that the Okanagan is still very much a small town at heart and that the construction community is especially close.

“It’s a very tight knit group. People know who’s working on each job site. They know the families of each other, on and off work they know each other,” he said. He expects a large crowd at the vigil, “which speaks to how connected this group is.”

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The gathering is set to begin at 9 p.m. There will be speeches followed by a moment of silence.

Hutchinson says the council is a collection of unions and typically advocates for workers’ rights and workers’ safety. The mandate extends beyond whether the workers are in a union or not. He says they felt they needed to show these workers the respect they deserve.

“This idea you could go to work and not be home for dinner, it could happen to anybody, it really kind of rocks people,” he said.

Donations will be collected at the vigil and will be split up equally among the five families.

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