65 incidents & 0 updates (3/15/16)

­­2016 Fatality Tracker

Industrial

MINE FATALITY Worker dies after dump truck drops 300 feet into quarry (dump truck driver, 53, was killed in an accident when his truck tumbled 300 feet off a ledge and into a deep pond below just after 11 p.m. – he was backing up to a ledge – after he went missing for about 15 minutes, other employees went looking for him – truck landed right-side up, but the cab and the man were submerged in the water – two employees jumped in the water and pulled him out – emergency crews who were first on the scene attempted first aid but were unable to revive him)

FALL from CRANE Worker injured in fall at Norfolk International Terminals (one person was hurt in an accident around 11:05 a.m. – a worker had fallen 20-25 feet from a crane onto the top of a cargo container – crews assessed the worker and then set up a rope system to remove him from the top of the container, about 15 feet above the ground – worker was taken to a Hospital for treatment)

FATALITY Sheriff: Worker killed at industrial plant in McCalla (worker was killed in an accident at an auto-parts manufacturing and supply plant around 11 a.m. – a large piece of equipment fell on the man and he was pronounced dead at the scene – cause of the accident is unknown at this time)

Worker, first responder injured in logging accident (worker and a first responder were injured in an accident at a mine site at approximately 10:30 a.m. – a tree cutter at the mining site was cutting timber when a tree fell and pinned him to the ground – coworkers helped him until the first responders could reach the location – Assistant Chief, who is also chief of the department’s EMS division, was injured during the rescue operation and was taken to a Hospital where he was treated and later released – he fell approximately 50 feet off the hillside)

Vancouver Island forestry worker killed in ‘tragic accident’ (forestry contractor died while moving his equipment)

BOILER ACCIDENT Factory worker killed in accident (worker was killed and another injured – the two workers suffered grievous burns while working at the boiler inside the factory – one of them succumbed to the injuries while being shifted to a hospital – condition of another worker was stated to be stable)

OFF-SHORE RIG FATALITY Worker killed Friday in Gulf of Mexico drilling rig accident (worker died of a fatal injury on a drilling and production platform located offshore about 150 miles south of New Orleans – exact cause of the worker’s death is still under investigation – incident did not involve an explosion)

Worker Identified in Fatal Accident at Gibbs Die Casting (worker is dead following an accident at a die casting plant – he died when a piece of equipment he was trying to fix, fell – trapping him underneath – a bolt holding the equipment in place had broken – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Officials: Worker fatally crushed at Waste Management facility (incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. – worker was sitting next to a stack of bales when a worker was operating a forklift nearby which made contact with the bales of cardboard and caused them to topple – a bale of paper weighing one ton fell on top of and crushed the 42-year-old male)

LOTO/GUARDING AMPUTATION Worker’s arm amputated in Portland noodle factory accident (worker, in his 30s, had his arm amputated in an accident at a noodle factory at about 5:30 p.m. – he had been working with a noodle machine when his arm got stuck inside it – the man and his arm were extricated from the machine and taken to a Medical Center where doctors considered reattaching the arm)

SAWMILL FATALITY Worker dies after suffering head injury at Irving sawmill site in N.B. (worker, 50, has died after suffering a head injury at a sawmill – the man sustained a head injury in the chipper building at about 1:10 p.m. and later died in hospital – no word on cause)

LOTO AMPUTATION Namibia: Freak Accident Claims Chec Worker’s Arm (worker, 24, lost an arm in an accident at the Port – his right arm ripped off by a mixer – it is alleged that the employees were informed by the person in control that the machine is off, due to the breakage – worker allegedly went to remove an object from the machine and his arm got stuck in the machine – it is believed that the machine was not switched off, as they were told, resulting in his right arm being trapped and ripped off in the process – the arm was severely damaged and doctors also indicated that it would be impossible to save his arm)

DISTRIBUTION CENTER One injured in industrial accident at P&G facility in Union (one person was reportedly injured in an industrial accident at a distribution center around 5:25 a.m. – a piece of freight fell onto a worker’s head, according to dispatchers – ictim was transported to a local hospital for treatment, but the extent of the injury, and the person’s condition was not known)

GUARDING /LOTO Malaysia factory worker’s hand crushed in freak accident (worker’s hand, 19, was crushed by a plate printing machine – he was operating the machine prior to the 5.10pm incident – crews used a hydraulic ram to widen the gap in order to remove the hand from the machine – victim suffered broken bones on his right hand)

FATAL EXPLOSION Missing worker found dead after Gabon tank explosion at Sinopec subsidiary (a missing oil worker was found dead after an oil tank explosion at an onshore site – an unidentified worker went missing after an oil tank exploded at the producing site – six workers at the site were burned by the explosion and flown to hospitals for medical care – cause of the accident is still being investigated – the oil tank involved in the incident contained an estimated 2,000 barrels of oil at the time of the accident)

FATAL FALL from CATWALK Ethanol plant worker dies after falling 35 feet (a contractor, 62, at an ethanol plant fell off a catwalk to his death – he fell about 35 feet and died at a hospital)

MINE FATALITY – ELECTROCUTION Worker dies of electrocution at power company mine (worker, 42, at a lignite mine died of electrocution – an electrician, he was ready to come off the afternoon shift when he and another two colleagues were hit by 6,000 kilovolts of electricity while conducting a last-minute repair – he was killed instantaneously – coworkers were only lightly injured)

FATALITY FATAL WORK ACCIDENT IN LACTECH IN SAINT-ROMUALD (worker, 52, was found dead next to his trailer – early indications let think the man would have lost his footing on the trailer at the time of unloading maneuver)

FLASH FIRE Worker burned by chemicals at cosmetics lab, cops say (worker suffered facial burns after a chemical reaction went awry at a cosmetics laboratory – chemical reaction led to a flash fire – worker was mixing chemicals “for some type of fragrance mix” at 9 p.m. \when a chemical reaction led to a fire – in addition to facial burns, the worker suffered hand burns after the chemicals reacted with one another, resulting in a flash fire)

FIRE 2 Alarm Fire Breaks Out At Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant, Worker Says It’s Burning Feces (a rubber conveyor belt that runs throughout the building is on fire – it’s happening at the plant’s incinerator building – fire remains under investigation)

REFINERY EXPLOSION Petrobras confirms explosion at Texas refinery as worker suffers burns (explosion caused extensive damage to a 35,000 bpd light cycle oil hydrotreater, also called a hydrogen desulfurization unit, which uses hydrogen to convert the oil into diesel and remove sulfur – one person was burned when a unit that makes diesel ruptured – a unit operator from the refinery was taken to an area hospital, but has since been released)

STATIC ELECTRICITY FLASH FIRE Worker in critical condition with burns from diesel fuel fire (worker, 56, was rushed to a Hospital after suffering serious burns in a diesel fuel fire at a grain dock facility at 7:33 a.m. – he is reported in critical condition – fire investigators determined that static electricity spark ignited fumes from the fueling operation)

FATAL FLASH FIRE Pemex worker dies in fire at petrochemical plant in southeast Mexico (worker was killed after a fire broke out at a petrochemical plant – he was badly burned by the fire, which took place in the incinerator area and died in the hospital)

EXPLOSION Blast was a Close Call for N.Y. Plant Worker (employee was lucky not to be injured or killed after a compressor malfunction caused an explosion at a plant – the cause was a mechanical failure in a large air compressor and the malfunction caused a fire, which led to an explosion and more fire – sprinkler system kept the fire “at bay” – employees had been in the company’s parking lot for lunch when they saw smoke coming from a vent and called 911 – an employee went to check and saw smoke coming from a mechanical room housing the air compressor – employee closed the door to the room – as the employee was leaving, an explosion occurred and the doors were blown open)

FATAL FIRE Warehouse Worker Killed in Santa Fe Springs Fire (warehouse worker was killed in the fire that first was reported as an explosion from the building that distributes beauty items like hair products at 3:18 p.m. – when firefighters arrived, the warehouse was engulfed, and the blaze had burned through the roof)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on TOLUENE TANK Tank Explosion Kills 1 Indonesian Worker in South Korea (tank at a fire extinguisher manufacturing plant exploded – explosion has killed one worker and injured the other two – fire fighter authority said that the a welding work to fix a crack on storage tank had exposed toluene substance in the tank which has caused the explosion)

HOTWORK Fire reported at Olean’s Cutco facility (around 3:30 p.m. a fire was reported in the welding room of the structure resulted in a temporary evacuation by workers – fire was in the welding room at the facility, which is on the southeastern corner of the structure – fire radio transmissions reported an unknown problem with the sprinkler system requiring their continued presence)

REFINERY FIRE Carson oil refinery says fire extinguished, no one hurt (fire that broke out at an oil refinery was quickly extinguished with no reported injuries and no disruption in production expected – the fire at the refinery was discovered at 10 a.m. in a pipe containing fuel gas – employees already had the blaze out by the time the fire department arrived – cause is still unknown and under investigation)

FATALITIES 2 CONTRACTORS INJURED AT PORT ALLEN REFINERY (two contractors at a refinery were taken to a hospital after they were injured while working near storage tanks – workers were injured while doing work that required them to use fresh air supplies, which are provided by the refinery, – workers may have been exposed to gas – no substances leaked from the tanks or nearby facilities – investigation is looking into whether the safety equipment the contractors had “was properly used”)

FIRE Three injured in explosion at Gallipolis plant (three people were injured in an explosion at a plant at 12:54 p.m. – three people were transferring material when the explosion happened – explosion happened outside of the plant – three people were taken to the hospital – their injuries are not believed to be life threatening)

FATAL AMMONIA EXPLOSION Two dead in Basque Country ice factory explosion (two workers, 53 and 55, died in a blast caused by an ammonia leak – fire brigade have reported that the explosion and subsequent fire were caused by an ammonia leak – explosion occurred at approximately 14.45 – approximately 60 people are employed by the company, and the fact that only two people died is being attributed to the explosion having happened between shifts)

AMMONIA Work suspended in Carmona industrial park due to ammonia leakage (6 a.m. the plant workers smelled of the colorless pungent gas which was detected to be ammonia gas – the ice plant uses the gas as a refrigerant – about 20 workers were rushed by rescue team to nearby hospitals due to shortage of breathing and fainting)

AMMONIA Haz-mat crews secure large ammonia leak at Rheems facility (officials quickly discovered a large ammonia leak from the roof of the building and called in the county’s hazardous material team for assistance – officials evacuated nearby ball field while residents were told to stay inside their homes – two employees who were inside the building were checked by medical personnel and were OK – workers had been dismantling the chilling system when the leak occurred – medical personnel checked out several residents who reported not feeling well but said all checked out OK)

Construction

EXCAVATOR FATALITY Worker killed in Highway 220 construction accident in Summerfield (worker, 28, died in the accident just before 11 a.m. when he was hit by the counterweight of an excavator after walking into the excavator’s swing radius)

CRANE FATALITY Construction Worker Dies in Pope Co. Crane Accident (construction worker, 28, died in a crane accident around 10:30 a.m. – the individual operating the crane was injured in the accident and was later pronounced dead at the scene)

BULLDOZER FATALITY Police seek witnesses to bulldozer accident at Rt. 58 construction site that seriously injured worker this morning (worker, 42, succumbed to his injuries at a Hospital, where he was airlifted after the accident – he was operating a bulldozer and fell from it and was hit by the machine – the unmanned bulldozer continued operating westbound, traveling across the property and striking a parked, unoccupied van before coming to a stop in the rear parking lot of a restaurant – he sustained what police said appeared to be serious internal injuries in the accident)

CONCRETE PUMP TRUCK FATALITY One dead, one injured in Chilliwack workplace accident (one person is dead and another has suffered life-threatening injuries after an accident at a worksite – a concrete pump truck tipped over at a construction site for a new apartment building – other worker was taken away by critical care paramedics via air ambulance)

FATALITY Construction Worker Killed By Falling Tree (worker died when he was hit by a falling tree at a construction site – work crews were removing trees at a construction site when a tree fell, striking a man – he was pronounced dead on the scene)

FALL from ROOF Construction Worker Critically Injured After Fall From Building (construction worker, 24, was taken by CareFlite to a Medical Center after falling from a building on a construction site – worker fell 38-feet on to concrete floor of the building, which is under construction)

TRUCK FATALITY Worker dies after BBC Television Centre building site accident (worker died after he was trapped under a lorry – the traffic marshall, believed to be in his 30s, was involved in an accident with a refuse truck – paramedics and Air Ambulance were sent to the scene at 8.30am where they managed to free the man from underneath the back axel of the lorry)

EXCAVATOR and PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE Lubbock employee dies Monday morning following accident on pedestrian bridge (employee, 57, who was injured after a small park bridge collapsed has died after more than a week of hospitalization – he was a heavy-equipment operator in the Parks and Recreation Department – he spent about five-to-10 minutes inside a skid steer with a bucket after it became submerged in water Feb. 19 at a Park – accident occurred when Fort drove the heavy machinery over a pedestrian bridge while city employees were performing maintenance)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Road worker injured at fall near interchange (construction worker, 26, who was doing work on a scaffolding underneath the bridge fell from the scaffolding sometime between 9:30 and 10 a.m – victim apparently suffered a number of broken bones and possibly other injuries)

FALL Construction worker falls from bridge in Gainesville (worker is in critical condition after a fall from a highway construction zone around 4:45 p.m. where crews worked quickly with a fire department ladder truck and specialized equipment to pull the worker to safety)

FALL from LADDER Worker injured in construction site accident (worker fell 31 feet off a step ladder and through an opening in the floor below)

SCAFFOLDING and ELECTROCUTION 1 Electrocuted, 1 Injured in Work-Related Accident (one person is dead and another is in critical condition after an electrocution at a work site – two people were moving scaffolding when they fell into some hot power lines – victim is in critical condition)

TRENCH FATALITY Worker who died in Coquitlam trench collapse identified (construction worker, 31, died while digging a trench for a sewer line – he was buried when the trench collapsed on him about 10:45 a.m. – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

CRANE Construction Accident Shuts Down Lynn Street Friday Morning (accident happened around 6:45 a.m. when a construction worker was unloading material from a crane when the material fell on top of him – other construction workers on scene were able to free him – crane was used to bring the injured worker down from the fifth level of the under-construction building – worker was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries)

WORKZONE FATALITY I-4 construction to resume gradually after worker death (worker, 34, was run over by a dump truck in a construction area)

TRACKHOE Worker run over by track hoe after slipping in mud, officials say (construction worker, 22, was transported to the hospital after a track hoe drove over his legs – he was working on an excavation site when the accident occurred just before 9 a.m. – he approached the track hoe from behind while the vehicle’s operator moved a large length of pipe into a trench – he was in a position that the operator could not observe him – as the track hoe began to move in reverse, it is believed that he slipped in the wet mud and fell down in the path of the machine)

SCALPING Man suffers scalp injuries at worksite accident (a concrete pump worker, 58, suffered scalp injuries when he was hit by a piece of machinery at a construction site – he had skin torn from his head and suffered a fractured shoulder and leg after he was hit by a hydraulic boom about 8am – he was pouring concrete at the time of the incident)

CONSTRUCTION ELEVATOR FATALITY Worker Killed While Riding Elevator at Construction Site (worker, 21, was killed at a construction site after the top of his head was sliced off while he was riding in an external cargo elevator – he was transporting cement and floor tiles up to the ninth floor of the under-construction hotel when the accident occurred – victim was sitting down in the elevator and he heard a sound and raised his head out of the elevator’s protective frame, hitting a metal bar – he was killed instantly)

CRANE 130-foot crane topples at All Aboard Florida’s West Palm station site (a 110-ton crane crashed to the ground – no one was injured by the toppled 130-foot crane, which fell behind – crane tipped over, nose forward, just before 2 p.m. – worker on site said it snagged on something as it drilled into the ground)

FATAL FALL Worker dies after fall at Niskayuna construction site (construction worker, 37, fell about 35 feet and died after being transported to a Medical Center – he appeared to have been outfitted with a harness, but Fire Chief said he did not know if it was properly secured or what caused the fall)

FATAL FALL down ELEVATOR SHAFT Construction worker dies in 3-story fall in Davidson (construction worker, 38, fell three stories down an elevator shaft of a home under construction – he was working on third floor drywall at the home when he fell into the elevator shaft)

PROPANE BLEVE Explosion, fireball shakes Crocker Park in Westlake (fire and explosion shook a shopping center -fire was in the new construction area – no immediate reports of any injuries – Two 1,000-pound propane tanks caught fire and exploded just before 10:30 a.m.)

HOTWORK FIRE St. Paul Fire Department: ‘Careless Welding’ Cause of Fire on Roof of Historic Downtown Building (the cause of a fire at a high-rise was “careless welding” – part of the roof was damaged and water damaged the building’s interior)

HOTWORK Fire touched off by welder’s torch (a construction company’s maintenance garage was set on fire by a spark from a welder’s torch and employees attempted to put the fire out themselves – mechanic was welding and when the fire started he tried desperately to put it out but it got away from him – there was a lot of smoke and fire and the small machinery inside was heavily damaged)

HOTWORK Roofing work sparks fire at Easton furniture store (roofing work at a business sparked a fire  about 2:55 p.m. – construction workers were using a torch to seal material for a roof repair when the flame struck dried material in some sort of animal nest – the flames spread, and the two discharged their fire extinguisher, but the fire continued to spread – that’s when they dialed 911)

TRENCH FATALITIES Two dead, one injured in trench collapse (two men died and another was taken a Medical Center when the approximately 11-foot-deep trench they were working in collapsed while they were replacing a sewer line – the men were replacing the line under Main Street – they were digging a trench to do the repair work when a portion of the trench collapsed)

Miscellaneous

FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM FATALITIES 8 dead in fire safety system accident at Thai bank (eight people were killed and seven others injured at a bank’s headquarters when a worker accidentally released a chemical that sucked oxygen from the Bangkok building during a fire prevention system upgrade – a worker activated pyrogen aerosol, a chemical used as a fire retardant, after smoke was allegedly detected coming from the building’s basement Sunday night)

ELECTRICAL Cable worker shocked by live wire in Kitsap County (a live wire shocked a cable worker who came into contact with the live wire around 12:30 p.m. – it’s unclear exactly what happened – victim’s condition is unknown)

HOTWORK Welding accident causes fire in Centerville, Md. (a man working on a boat with a welding torch causes a fire in a detached garage – he as flown to a Trauma Center for treatment of smoke inhalation and is expected to survive – damage caused to the building is estimated at $20,000, and $15,000 damage was caused to contents of the building including a wooden boat and trailer)