31 Incidents & 0 Updates (9/22/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

FATALITY 1 more death at Ctg ship breaking yard (a worker, 22, was killed and two others were injured when a large iron-plate fell on them during a welding work at a ship-breaking yard – accident happened at about 9:30am when they were welding the iron-plate from a platform beside a ship – at one stage of their work, the joint of the plate got loose and the plate fell on the worker, killing him on the spot – the others got injured after they jumped from the platform and landed in a muddy area in a bid to save themselves from the falling plate)

POWER PLANT FATALITY Rivesville man killed in accident at power plant (a worker, 63, was killed shortly before noon at the plant – he was an operations technician and a 25-year-veteran – he was working in a plant tunnel where coal is transported by conveyor belt, when he somehow became pinned between a piece of machinery and a guardrail)

RAIL YARD Man crushed in train yard accident (a rail-yard worker, 20, has suffered serious leg injuries after he was crushed between a locomotive and a wagon – he is in a stable condition in a Hospital following the incident – he was working on the front of a moving wagon when it collided with the locomotive which was running along the same track – it took half an hour to free the man from between the trains, with around a dozen people comforting him – he is believed to be a ‘shunter’, which is the term for people who couple locomotives to wagons)

POWERLINK WORKER SUFFERS MINOR INJURIES (a worker suffered injury and was flown by private helicopter to an ambulance, where he was transported to a hospital – a fitting came loose, rolled down and bumped his leg – he was taken in for precautionary reasons just for x-rays – there are no broken bones)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Night shift worker killed when pulled into machinery (worker, 24, at a plant which produced rolls of rubber and cloth to be made into blankets was killed – he had been alone operating an automated machine used to inspect the quality of the products before they were sent to customers – the accident wasn’t witnessed, though colleagues went to investigate when they heard him cry out – it was too late by the time they reached him – investigations by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that he  died when he was pulled into the machine between a roller and a rubber blanket)

AMPUTATION Worker Caught In Machine At Local Plant, Suffers Severe Injuries (a worker who was caught in machinery at a manufacturing plant was taken to a local hospital with what a fire department official described as severe injuries – he lost his arm in the accident, which happened at around 3 p.m. – it took rescuers and plant employees about 15 minutes to free the man from the machine)

MINE FATALITIES Two dead in Colombia coal mine explosion (two miners died, three more were wounded and several more could be trapped underground in a coal mining explosion – the accident was apparently the result of an explosion of methane gas in a coal mine)

FIRE Four Workers injured in an accident in Ferro Alloy Plant (four workers were injured in a fire accident when the workers were working in the first floor of the plant at 10 am – accident caused burn injuries to four of them)

Oilfield accidents kill two (the first accident at 5 a.m. killed a worker, 53, when a piece of oilfield equipment that he was standing near fell over, crushing him – he died before emergency medical personnel could arrive – a second accident occurred at 3:50 p.m. when a vapor recovery unit tower, about two stories tall and 3-feet in diameter, tipped and fell on a worker, 21, as roustabouts were attaching the tower to the base – workers tried to get out of the tower’s path, but one was struck in the head and was pronounced dead after being transported to a Hospital)

COMPRESSED GAS CYLINDER Explosion at welding supplier, worker injured (a compressed gas cylinder exploded at a welding supply business – one worker was hit in the head by a valve from the equipment – he was transported to a local hospital for treatment of unknown injuries – there was no fire and no damage reported to the business itself)

ELECTRICAL Worker Nearly Electrocuted at Manufacturing Facility (a worker was injured at a manufacturing facility after receiving what appeared to be a large jolt of electricity – the man was working on machinery at the concerete manufacturing plant when he appeared to receive a jolt of electricity – he was shocked and knocked off balance – he was transported to a Hospital, where his condition is not known)

HYDROGEN SULFIDE FATALITIES Four killed in gas leak near Mumbai (four people choked to death after they inhaled a toxic gas in a pharmaceutical plant – at least five people were injured – the accident happened around 7.30 p.m. when there were 17 people working in the plant – according to preliminary investigations, a pipe burst caused leakage of hydrogen sulphide gas in the plant premises – while four who inhaled the gas died shortly thereafter, at least five others were rushed to the local hospital – two continue to remain critical, the other three are out of danger)

Construction

WORKZONE FATALITY Fayetteville road worker dies from car injuries (a city road worker, 57, who was hit by an alleged drunken driver in a construction zone has died – she had been in critical condition since the Wednesday morning accident – the driver was cited Wednesday for driving while intoxicated by drugs, reckless driving, and disobeying a traffic control device – driver was also charged with child endangerment because a child was with her in the car)

LOTO FATALITY Authorities identify construction accident victim (a worker, 54, died this morning in a construction accident – he was an employee of an elevator company – he was standing on top of one of the elevators in the shaft when the second elevator came down and struck him in the head)

ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted while on ladder (a man was apparently electrocuted while working on a church construction site – the worker was pronounced dead that night at a Hospital – his ladder touched some high-voltage power lines)

WORKZONE Pickup Hits City Work Crew (a city worker and another man are in the hospital after a work crew’s equipment was hit by a passing motorist around midnight – accident happened as the road crew was picking up cones – the crew had a dump truck pulling a trailer – a man driving a pickup truck struck the trailer and knocked the pickup on its side – the worker was on the other side of the trailer and became trapped when the trailer’s load of traffic signs and cones shifted and toppled over him – he may have a broken arm – the driver was trapped in his vehicle until emergency crews were able to free him – both men were taken to the hospital)

TRENCH Worker Injured in Waterville Construction Accident (a construction accident sent one worker to the hospital – a crew was working on a pipeline and a man was in a trench box while a piece of pipe was being lowered into the hole – the pipe hit the man, leaving him with non-life threatening injuries)

GRADER FATALITY Worker run over by grader (a worker, 53, was run over by a grader he had been operating)

MANLIFT ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted while power-washing silo (worker, 42, died Monday afternoon after being electrocuted in a high-lift machine while power-washing a silo – although no one saw the accident, it’s believed that he or another object touched a nearby power line – he was found collapsed in the high lift – his boss performed CPR on him until paramedics arrived – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

TRENCH FATALITY Construction worker dies in Floyd County accident (a construction worker, 60, was killed at an excavation site – he became trapped under a skid loader at about 4:20 P.M. – he was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries – cause of the accident is under investigation)

CRANE FATALITY Tower Crane Collapse Kills 4 (four people were killed when a 70-meter-high crane collapsed at a construction site – three workers were killed at the scene, and the other one died in hospital after treatment failed – the cause of the accident is being investigated)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING 3 construction workers injured in La Jolla (three construction workers were injured when they fell about 15 feet from scaffolding at 3:53 p.m. – the workers, all men, suffered injuries that were not life threatening – all three were taken to hospitals – one had a possible wrist and ankle injury, another had a leg and back injury, and a third suffered an ankle injury – details of how the accident occurred were not yet known)

CRANE Crane topples onto lobby of health center at Shreveport nursing home; no residents hurt (a construction crane crashed into the lobby of a nursing home, injuring a worker but no residents – it happened about 10:20 a.m. – one employee was taken to the hospital for possible injuries)

HOTWORK 8-alarm fire leads to evacuation of 2,500 students in 3 Lachute schools (the blaze was first reported at 10:25 a.m., after a construction crew working on the ventilation unit located on the roof accidentally sparked a fire while welding – the construction workers attempted to put out the fire, which spread quickly along the roof, that is located above the school’s library)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man rescued after falling 10m down and into a concrete pit in Mordialloc (a worker is recovering in the hospital after a nasty plunge – emergency services spent almost an hour trying to free the man, who had fallen from 10m of scaffolding into a concrete pit – the victim, aged in his 40s, had back and lower-leg pain)

SCAFFOLDING 18 injured after scaffold collapses on city bus in Harlem (eighteen people were injured when part of a building and the attached scaffolding collapsed onto a city bus – the two-story building’s facade, along with the scaffolding, collapsed at 9:30 a.m. sending bricks, rocks and debris crashing down – people became trapping underneath the rubble and had to be rescued by firefighters – there were about 30 people on the bus at the time of the accident)

MIscellaneouS

SCAFFOLDING Scaffolding accident on set at Chickenstock Live! injures worker (a construction worker was injured in a scaffolding accident at the site of a concert – injury to the worker is not life-threatening – accident happened about 4 p.m. at the stadium where preparations are under way for the Saturday musical event)

ZIP LINE FATALITY One killed, one injured as zip line collapses in Hawaii (one man, 36, was killed and another seriously injured as they tested a zip line – he was about halfway across the 2,300-foot line above a stream bed when a tower holding up one end of line collapsed – he plunged 200 feet into the rocky stream bed and died at the scene – the injured worker, 35, fell about 30 feet from the collapsing tower and was in critical condition at a Medical Center – the two men were working on a new course at the zip line facility when the accident occurred)

Jackson man killed as he repaired farm equipment (a woker, 21, was killed when the farm implement he was repairing dropped on him – he was working on an eight-row forage harvester at the time of the accident – a co-worker saw the victim at 8:15 a.m. working on top of the implement – when the co-worker next saw the man, about an hour later, he was pinned underneath the harvester – he was taken to a Hospital where he was pronounced dead)

PROPANE FLASH FIRE Food truck worker burned at high school event (a food truck worker, 31, accidentally burned her face and head  – she was airlifted to a Medical Center for treatment – she was burned while preparing food – incident occurred when the woman was attempting to start a propane-powered fryer inside the truck at around 4:15 p.m. – as she went to start the fryer, she did not realize the gas knobs were on and sparked flash fire – her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening)