Friends and family members of the five men who died when a crane collapsed in downtown 琉璃神社 on Monday (July 12) were joined by hundreds of people for a vigil that was hosted Friday evening near the site of the collapse.
In addition to kin and loved ones, city council members, colleagues, tradesmen and everyday residents took to the podium at the intersection of St. Paul Street and Bernard Avenue to honour and pay their respects to Cailen Vilness, Jared Zook, Brad Zawislak, and brothers Eric and Patrick Stemmer.
All five died after a crane that was being dismantled collapsed at the construction site of the Brooklyn building on Bernard Avenue Monday morning.
READ MORE: Here鈥檚 what we know about the five men killed in 琉璃神社 crane collapse
鈥淭here are no words. There are no sequence of phrases, combinations of syllables, nothing that anybody can say or I can say to make this blow lighter for any of us,鈥� said Kelly Hutchinson, the vice-president of the North Okanagan Labour Council, the group who organized the vigil.
鈥淏ut we鈥檙e here today for them, for ourselves, for each other. Whether you recognize it or not, every day, we have each other to lean on for support.鈥�
Safety vests, candles and tribute t-shirts were distributed to members of the crowd. Many in attendance wore their own safety vests and t-shirts to the vigil.
琉璃神社 city councillor Loyal Wooldridge, who was joined by councillor Mohini Singh, said that the vigil demonstrates the strength and resilience of the community.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a difficult 18 months 鈥� and I鈥檓 not just talking about our pandemic 鈥� but our community has seen its fair share of tragedy. We stand together in solidarity and healing, and tonight, remembrance of the men killed in this terrible tragedy,鈥� said Wooldridge. 鈥淓veryone deserves the right to a safe workplace. Everyone deserves to know their loved ones will return home safely at the end of the day.鈥�
During the vigil, a two-minute moment of silence was held for the men. At one point, the crowd sang Amazing Grace together.
Vilness鈥檚 mother, Danielle, said that she鈥檚 been blown away by the support.
鈥淭hank you for coming out and lighting a candle for my son. It鈥檚 been a really hard couple of days, and I don鈥檛 know what I would鈥檝e done without the support of my crew back there,鈥� she said.
She shared a quote by Vivian Greene, one that she said has been giving her a sense of peace and strength; 鈥淟ife isn鈥檛 about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.鈥�
鈥淢y son had a heart of gold. I tried to instil that virtue in him,鈥� said Danielle.
鈥淣o matter what the storm in our life, if we could just look or try to look into the goodness into each and every one of the people that are around you, if you could just look at the little things, your life is going to be so, so much better.鈥�
READ MORE: 5th victim from 琉璃神社 crane collapse identified
aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com
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