Clayton’s Towing hopes an 80-tonne crane which fell into three Coast houses will be removed by Friday night

An 80-tonne crane which fell into three Coast houses is back on its wheels after a mammoth operation.

UPDATE 5PM: An 80-tonne crane which fell into three Coast houses is back on its wheels after a mammoth operation.

The crane fell into the homes at Benjamin Crescent in Nirimba about 4.30pm on Friday, April 30, with police saying it was a miracle no one had been hurt.

After an epic effort by Clayton's Towing, most of which occurred on Friday, the crane's boom was retracted with the big rig back on it's wheels by 5pm.

Clayton's Towing general manager Troy Morris said the crane would remain at the site until Saturday morning when it would be taken to a holding hard.

"It's been recovered successfully and it's back on its wheels," he said.

"They're now reducing the exclusion zones and starting to get some people back into houses."

It was a big job, with Clayton's Towing owner Mike Clayton revealing earlier in the week that up to 15 people would be involved.

A number of vehicles, including two tow trucks and another crane were also used in the recovery.

It was a tough week for the impacted homeowners, with one young family looking to move hundreds of kilometres away to stay with relatives after struggling with their insurance company.

EARLIER: The removal of an 80-tonne crane which fell into three houses is progressing well, with hopes of the big rig being on its wheels and gone before the weekend.

The crane fell into the homes at Benjamin Crescent in Nirimba about 4.30pm on Friday, April 30, with police saying it was a miracle no one had been hurt.

Clayton's Towing, which has been tasked with its removal, stabilised the crane on Saturday before starting preparation works on Tuesday.

After getting the all clear from Workplace Health and Safety, Clayton's Towing were finally able to begin the first stage of the removal process on Thursday.

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

That involved a Mega Tow securing the crane and hooking an external hydraulic control unit to the crane.

Crews then closed the remaining extended legs and hooked up to the crane extension hydraulics ahead of a big Friday, which is the planned day for the final stage.

Cranes and heavy tow trucks set up early, with crews then slightly lifting the boom off the houses to begin closing the boom.

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

Clayton's Towing general manager Troy Morris said as of 3.30pm on Friday all was going well with hopes the crane would be gone ahead of the weekend.

"They have retracted the boom across one roof already and are still working their way through (the others)," he said.

"But, all going to plan, they hope to try and recover, roll it back over in the next few hours.

"It's a slow process."