Insurance company provides no help for family whose home hit by 80-tonne crane

A family whose home was hit by an 80-tonne crane in a freak accident last week could be forced to move hundreds of kilometres to put a roof over their heads as insurer refuses emergency assistance.

A young family will be forced to move hundreds of kilometres away to stay with relatives if an insurance company continues to withhold emergency funds following a freak event that saw a crane crash through the family’s home.

Alex Selkrig and her pregnant wife Misty, along with their three children aged one, two and seven, have been left without a home after the 80-tonne crane collapsed onto the roof of their Sunshine Coast house on Friday.

It was a horrifying ordeal, but miraculously, no-one was injured.

Alex Selkrig and Misty Hamilton with their children Layklan, 7, Riversyn, 2, and Bayah, 1.

However the home they had only moved into last month to prepare for their newest baby’s arrival has been left completely uninhabitable, with no move-in date in sight.

“It’s just so hard not knowing where we will be and trying to explain to the children that we don’t know when or if we will ever go back to our home,” a heartbroken Ms Selkrig said.

She said the crane company has been “absolutely amazing” but insurers Mecon Insurance had responded to the family’s calls for help by stating they were: “sorry (they) are unable to offer any tangible assistance at this point.”

She said Mecon had left it to the family to find emergency accommodation through their real estate agent.

“I guess we just expected for the insurance company to contact us and offer assistance but it didn’t happen, so we contacted them and were told they can’t offer us any assistance at this time and should their client be at fault we would be reimbursed,” a devastated Ms Selkrig said.

Three houses were damaged when a crane toppled over at Nirimba on Friday afternoon. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“It’s just so hard not knowing where we will be and trying to explain to the children that we don’t know when or if we will ever go back to our home.

Ms Selkrig said she was now forced to make the difficult decision to leave her Nirimba community and take her three kids to stay with family at Hervey Bay.

“I don’t want to be away from here but I need to support my children,” she said.

“I’m struggling to support my children because as this goes on it’s affecting me more and more … This has taken a huge toll on us.”

At the time of the crane topple, Sunshine Coast police district duty officer Tony Hurley said it was “really a miracle … there weren’t injuries.”

The incident is being investigated by Workplace Health and Safety and Mecon Insurance have been contacted for comment.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account.