31 Incidents & 2 Updates (7/9/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

FATAL FALL Contract Worker Dies in Fall at Ill. Refinery Site (a contractor, 38, fell nearly 50 feet while doing welding on an above-ground tank at an oil refinery – he died at the scene of the accident – an autopsy showed he suffered head and chest trauma)

AMMONIA 1 Hospitalized in St. Paul Ammonia Leak (an ammonia leak has injured one person and caused the evacuation of nearly 10 adjacent buildings – a passer-by reported ammonia fumes at the Cold Storage just prior to 9 a.m. – a worker suffered from “significant exposure” at the facility and was taken to a Hospital, but is doing ok – a cooler coil was the source of the leak)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak at Paramount Farms plant (plant’s safety officer ordered the evacuation of all employees from the plant – it was determined that a compressor in a refrigeration unit leaked 400 pounds of ammonia – an emergency venting system cleared the affected building and processed the ammonia, making it nonhazardous before releasing it into the environment – there were no injuries to any of the employees, who were able to return to work three hours later)

ELECTROCUTION & MANLIFT Electrocution accident claims Montrose man (a man was electrocuted when the lift he was operating made contact with a power line near a grain elevator – he had been involved in cleaning the southeast elevator for painting when he attempted to lower a lift to fetch additional equipment – the lift made contact with the lowest of several power lines – another worker at the scene descended a ladder and shouted to nearby utility workers to call 911 – he was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:18 a.m.)

MINE FATALITY 4 dead, 1 injured in Xinjiang coal mine gas blast (four people were killed and another was seriously injured in a gas explosion that occurred in a coal mine at 10:50 a.m. in a mineshaft – twelve workers were in the mineshaft when the explosion occurred – rescuers managed to pull seven of the workers out of the shaft, with one injured worker sent to a local hospital for treatment – the cause of the explosion is under investigation)

CRANE FATALITY Worker dies at Port Hedland (a worker, 27, has died – he was crushed to death whilst working at an iron ore loading facility at around 12:45 am – he was standing alone on a small platform and a heavy machinery crane collapsed on him – he had been working as a contractor at the site and died instantly from his injuries)

Man breaks leg in industrial accident (a worker broke his leg when he was trapped between two garbage bins in an industrial accident – a company was doing work on a site just after 8 p.m., requiring the use of a truck to move a garbage bin – while the bin was being moved under the co-ordination of a driver and a “guider,” another employee was retrieving material from the bin – as the first bin was being moved, it collided with another bin, trapping the victim between the two – he was taken to hospital where he was treated for a broken right leg)

IMPALEMENT FATALITY Man Killed In Industrial Accident In Lawrenceville (a man, 51, was killed in an industrial accident at a railroad supply facility just after 12:30 a.m. – he was impaled by a large piston – he was on an elevated platform next to the machine – investigators were not immediately sure if he fell or got caught in the machine – there were no eyewitnesses – he had worked at the facility for less than a year)

UPDATE now FATAL DUST EXPLOSION 1 man dies of injuries from June explosion at Mississippi grain processing plant (coroner says a mill worker severely burned in a grain explosion June 27 has died – the burn center says his co-worker who also was burned in the explosion was listed in critical condition – the Mill has been the site of two more grain fires since they were injured – no one was injured in the blazes on June 29 and July 4 – the plant processes distiller’s grain, a byproduct of ethanol production)

BUCKET TRUCK Nstar worker hangs from lines as his truck burns (a crew was working on secondary utility lines high in the air from a bucket truck – they were put into harm’s way when a spark ignited, creating a flame and causing the Nstar truck to combust into fire – because the truck’s motor was still running at the time, powering the vehicle’s hydraulic pumps, a hydraulic leak occurred at the same time as a result of the heat from the flame causing the truck to ignite in a ball of flames as the hydraulic fluid was still pumping away – the worker that was in the truck’s bucket elevated atop the utility pole jumped from the truck and was hanging for his life from the electric utility lines until another utility bucket truck arrived at the scene to rescue him – as the rescue was taking place, the second truck also ignited and burned)

FATAL EXPLOSION Oil tank explosion kills one, injures 12 in southern Vietnam (one person was killed and 12 others were injured when an oil tank exploded – the incident happened about 30 minutes after workers began working at a small plant producing dried shrimp  – an oil tank in the area where they cook raw materials went off, setting many people on fire – the victims were rushed to the local hospital, but a worker, 18, died on the way – seven others were critically injured)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker dies due to explosion in CNG pipeline (a worker was burnt alive after a CNG pipeline, on which he was doing some maintenance work, exploded and caught fire – a section of CNG pipeline caught fire and a person, who was doing electric welding on it, was killed due to burn injuries)

FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION Boiler explosion kills four, injures five at Xinjiang factory (a boiler explosion killed four and injured five at a washing detergent plant – the explosion occurred at 6:40 a.m.)

MINE FATALITY Harmony mine closed after worker dies in locomotive accident (a mine has been closed after a worker died in a locomotive accident)

Construction

COLLAPSE Death Toll In Dutch Stadium Collapse Rises To 2 (a construction worker who was seriously injured when a portion of the football stadium roof collapsed has succumbed to his injuries, taking the death toll in the incident to two – a section of the roof of the stadium had collapsed, killing one person instantly and leaving 12 others injured – accident happened when construction work was progressing at the southern end of the stadium – the roof collapsed atop a cluster of seats behind one of the goals – police have launched a criminal investigation into the incident – although the reason for the collapse is not yet clear, news reports suggested that the accident happened after two girders supporting the roof buckled under the weight of the structure – nearly a dozen people were trapped under the collapsed structure)

FATAL FALL Worker dies after falling off beam at Andheri Metro site (a worker died after he slipped and fell off a beam – he succumbed to injuries at a hospital – he did not have the safety equipment on at the time of the accident)

FATAL FALL Worker in British Columbia dies after fall from roof (a roofing worker died after falling through a skylight – he was working on renovations when the accident occurred around 1 p.m. – an air ambulance took the wounded man to a hospital where, a day later, he succumbed to his injuries)

WORKZONE FATALITY w/ FRONT-END LOADER Road worker killed in accident (a construction worker, 43, was killed in an accident with a front end loader – the bucket from the front-end loader struck him in the head – he was facing south and on the phone at the construction site while the front-end loader was driving south – the worker driving the heavy piece of equipment was high up in the air, hauling a large bucket, and neither man saw the other – paramedics arrived on scene and pronounced him dead at 8:29 a.m.)

UPDATE now a FATAL FALL Construction worker dies from fall (a construction worker, 48, who fell while working on the roof of a two-story building at a military base last week has died of his injuries – he slipped while trying to unfasten a rope attached to a harness – the accident happened on June 28 around 8:30 a.m., an hour into his second day on the job at that site)

ELECTROCUTION Construction worker dies from apparent electrocution in Calexico (a construction worker, 48, died after he apparently touched a live wire at the construction site of an apartment complex – Police believe that the construction worker had come into contact with a wire and laid underneath a trailer at least 20 minutes before a co-worker found him)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire in old San Diego building started by accident (investigators say workers putting a new roof on a restaurant accidentally started a fire in an adjacent 100-year-old building, causing about $1 million damage – the fire was accidentally started by workers using a torch to put a new roof on the adjacent restaurant – because the building is so old, it has no fire stops in its hollow walls, making the fire more intense)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man recovering after construction site accident (a man, in his 20’s, was taken by helicopter ambulance to a Hospital after severing a major artery in his arm in an accident on a construction site – he was working on a job site when he fell off the scaffolding and landed on his arm – he fell approximately 18 feet – he reached out when he fell and caught a piece of steel on his way down, cutting his arm when he landed on the concrete)

FALL from MOBILE SCAFFOLDING SRS worker in stable condition after fall (a construction worker was airlifted to a hospital after falling from a portable scaffold – he is in stable condition – accident occurred in the site’s 105-K reactor building, where the worker sustained injuries to his head, neck and ribs)

MIscellaneouS

DUMP TRUCK FATALITY Columbia parks and recreation worker dies in truck mishap near hiking trail (a seasonal worker for Parks and Recreation Department has died in an accident involving a dump truck – the victim was working alone pouring gravel – he was caught between the cab and the bed of the truck – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

FALL Lifeguard injured in 15-foot fall at water park (a lifeguard has been injured when he fell 15-feet from a platform at a Water Park – the lifeguard was at the top of a racing slide, standing at the slide’s entrance when he slipped and fell 15-feet to a platform below – six other lifeguards placed their co-worker on a backboard and moved him to the parking lot where an ambulance was waiting – he was awake and talking)

ELECTROCUTION Carnival Worker Electrocuted in Sand Lake (a carnival company employee, 41, was killed when he was electrocuted while dismantling a ride called the “Fireball” after the carnival’s weekend run – the accident happened at about 3:00 a.m., – he was working on an arm of the ride when it swung out and he came in contact with a nearby power line – he fell 36 feet and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident at 3:26 a.m.)

FARM Worker trapped in farm machinery airlifted to hospital (an agricultural worker, 30, was airlifted to a hospital after falling onto a piece of machinery and becoming trapped by his injuries – fire crews worked for half an hour to free the man – he was airlifted to a Hospital with serious lacerations to his back)

CHEMICAL Worker overcome by gas at Ottawa Boys and Girls Club (an employee of a Boys and Girls Club was sent to the hospital after chemicals he was using in the pool area produced the toxic chlorine gas – he had been using everyday maintenance supplies, chlorine and muriatic acid, that when combined produce poisonous chlorine gas – he was conscious, but was suffering chemical burns in his eyes, throat, and nose, and coughing heavily)

EXPLOSION Two injured at recycling plant fire (two people suffered burns from the explosive fire – witnesses said they saw gasoline pour from junked vehicles just before witnessing a metal saw ignite the pile of cars in a fiery explosion)