Friends and family members of the five men who died when a crane collapsed in downtown Kelowna 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含羞草研究社檚 what we know about the five men killed in Kelowna crane collapse
含羞草研究社淭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,含羞草研究社� said Kelly Hutchinson, the vice-president of the North Okanagan Labour Council, the group who organized the vigil.
含羞草研究社淏ut we含羞草研究社檙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.含羞草研究社�
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.
Kelowna city councillor Loyal Wooldridge, who was joined by councillor Mohini Singh, said that the vigil demonstrates the strength and resilience of the community.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檝e seen a difficult 18 months 含羞草研究社� and I含羞草研究社檓 not just talking about our pandemic 含羞草研究社� 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,含羞草研究社� said Wooldridge. 含羞草研究社淓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.含羞草研究社�
During the vigil, a two-minute moment of silence was held for the men. At one point, the crowd sang Amazing Grace together.
Vilness含羞草研究社檚 mother, Danielle, said that she含羞草研究社檚 been blown away by the support.
含羞草研究社淭hank you for coming out and lighting a candle for my son. It含羞草研究社檚 been a really hard couple of days, and I don含羞草研究社檛 know what I would含羞草研究社檝e done without the support of my crew back there,含羞草研究社� she said.
She shared a quote by Vivian Greene, one that she said has been giving her a sense of peace and strength; 含羞草研究社淟ife isn含羞草研究社檛 about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淢y son had a heart of gold. I tried to instil that virtue in him,含羞草研究社� said Danielle.
含羞草研究社淣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.含羞草研究社�
READ MORE: 5th victim from Kelowna crane collapse identified
aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com
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