36 Incidents & 3 Updates (8/4/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

LOADING DOCK FATALITY Worker dies in accident at Idaho food processing plant (a longtime employee at a food processing plant died after he was accidentally struck and pinned under a semi-truck as it backed up into the loading dock area at the plant – he died at the scene)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Worker Killed In Bakery Accident (a worker has died following an industrial accident – rescue crews arrived to find the man trapped by a piece of machinery – the man was crushed after somehow ending up on a conveyor belt – the worker died shortly after being transported to a Medical Center)

TRENCH FATALITY Cave-In Kills Area Sand Pit Worker (a heavy equipment operator died after dirt caved in on him – firefighters were called to the sand pit at 12:16 p.m. – it appeared dirt fell on him, trapping him inside of a crane)

LOGGING FATALITY Man killed by falling tree in logging accident (logging accident kills a 52-year-old tree-cutter – he was struck by a falling tree trunk while he was logging property – he was found by a co-worker around 2 p.m.)

MOBILE CART FATALITY Second Keystone worker in two weeks dies at the Bartonville mill (a worker, 51, died from multiple injuries to his chest and abdomen resulting from a motorized cart accident while working at a Steel and Wire Mill – a maintenance worker reportedly veered off-path while driving a motorized cart in the mill and he collided with an I-beam – he was pinned between the beam and the cart at about 2:30 p.m. and pronounced dead in the emergency room about one hour later)

UPDATE Oilsands worker dies after being injured at Suncor site in northern Alberta (a worker, 55, has died in an accident at an oilsands site – the worker was taken to hospital but died – the victim was working on a well pad when a piece of equipment came loose and struck him in the chest)

UPDATE confirmed ELECTROCUTION Ark. Plant Worker Dies In Electrocution Accident (a man who died after an accident was electrocuted – the state medical examiner has listed the cause of death of 28-year-old on July 25 as electrocution)

ARC FLASH Worker hurt in accident (a worker was taken to a Hospital after suffering electrical ‘flash burns’ at the composites manufacturer – on-site staff had isolated the equipment before emergency services arrived – the man was taken by ambulance for treatment)

CHEMICAL Gas Poisoning Leaves Three Dead in NW China (a gas poisoning has left three workers dead and another one severely hurt in a pharmaceutical plant at about 9 p.m. – the accident occurred in a waste water disposal workshop – altogether 11 workers had been exposed to the toxic gas and rushed to hospital – authorities are investigating the cause of the accident)

CONFINED SPACE & LOTO 2 teenage boys injured in Kremlin grain elevator accident (two teens, 17, have been flown to a hospital after a grain elevator accident -they were injured and extricated from a grain auger and transported in critical condition)

2 Hurt In Accident At Amtrak Train Yard (two workers were injured at a train yard – the workers were reportedly on a rolling work cart that got caught between two moving trains – the cart was destroyed – the hurt workers were taken to a hospital for minor injuries)

FATALITY EXPLOSION filling PROPANE CYLINDERS 2 hurt, 1 dead in Butler County propane explosions; most evacuees allowed home (it appears that propane canisters were being filled at the time of the initial fire or explosion – a series of explosions, some witnesses heard up to 40 separate blasts, shot 100-pound propane canisters like bottle rockets in all directions along the heavily traveled road – one canister landed almost 1,000 feet away – the fire appears to have started at a fill station where a truck had a mix of empty and filled canisters – at least two workers were present as someone was filling containers, then there was a release of propane)

CONFINED SPACE Two Men Fall Into Manhole in Fenton Township (second man fell after trying to rescue the first – both are hospitalized after falling down a manhole – one sewer worker fell 25 feet through a manhole and was unconscious for at least 15 minutes before rescue crews arrived – a co-worker, attempting to rescue him, was overcome by the powerful fumes of the sewer gas about 4:30 p.m. and was “pretty disoriented” when taken away by ambulance – both men were face down in the water when rescued – a police officer descended into the hole before firefighters arrived, turning the workers over so their faces were out of the water and the officer had to be put on oxygen when he exited the manhole – firefighters brought both men from the hole by wrapping them in rope with a harness and pulling them out – it appears the men were doing sewer work in the area)

FATAL EXPLOSION Blast at POSCO stainless steel plant kills 1 (an explosion inside a plant killed one worker, 28, and inured two others – firefighters are investigating the cause of the blast at the company’s stainless steel plant – worker was killed at the scene and two colleagues of his in their early 30s were seriously injured – officials said it may have been caused by blast furnace gas – explosion did not lead to a fire at the plant)

FATAL MINE EXPLOSION Gold miner killed in central Vietnam explosion (a worker was killed in an explosion at a private gold mine in the central province – the blast occurred in a workers’ tent at the gold mine – worker, 18, was found dead at the scene – the cause of death was determined to be wounds to his internal organs caused by the explosion – around 120 workers were working outside at the time of the explosion)

ELECTRICAL Con Ed worker electrocuted by power line (a mechanic was severely injured after getting electrocuted while working on power lines during a training session – he was standing in a bucket truck at the facility around 10:30 a.m. when he got zapped by a live wire and was knocked out – he went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to a Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition – he has been employed for 2 1/2 years by the company)

HEAT RELATED Tower Worker Rescued 750-Feet Up (a communications tower worker, 25, was rescued from a height of more than 700 feet after apparently suffering heat exhaustion – he was brought to the ground after spending about 18 hours trapped on a communications tower – he climbed up the tower at about 9 a.m. with three other workers and was supposed to come down at about 5 p.m. – while working on the 70-story tower he began cramping and found himself too weak to climb down – he found a platform 750 feet in the air where he could lay down, and that’s where stayed for hours drifting in and out of consciousness)

HYDROGEN EXPLOSION Chesco chemical plant blast prompts evacuation (an explosion and fire in a trailer filled with hydrogen at a chemical plant prompted emergency officials to evacuate the area for nearly four hours – a trailer with hydrogen exploded, causing a fire and injuring one employee – fire marshals are investigating the incident that caused roughly $200,000 in damage to the tank car and minor damage to the exterior of the building)

AEROSOL CAN EXPLODES Explosion Rocks Delaware Co. Company (an explosion at a business caused concerned for employees at a manufacturing plant – an aerosol can fell onto a conveyor belt and went into an oven causing it to burst – a female employee did get minor burns to her arms;  she did not need to be transported to the hospital)

Construction

BACKHOE HYDRAULIC FAILURE FATALITY State investigating death of Asheville area worker (NC-OSHA is investigating the death of a worker, 45, who worked for the Metropolitan Sewerage District – he was killed in what authorities called a “freak accident” while on a crew inserting a manhole – the backhoe bucket was suspended in air when the hydraulic line broke and the bucket fell on him, who was leaning in to survey the work being done – he had worked for the sewerage district for 15 years, was working as the construction crew supervisor)

WORKZONE TxDOT worker from Lufkin in hospital after being hit by a car near Crockett (a Department of Transportation contract worker, 24, is recovering in a hospital after being hit by a car – the accident happened just before 11 a.m. when the contract employee was flagging traffic on state Highway 19 – he spent Monday night in the intensive care unit with broken bones in his back and multiple cuts to his face)

UPDATE, now a FATAL FALL Worker dies after Fairplay construction accident (one of three workers injured in a construction accident has died – worker, 35, has died – the three men were working at a new School on July 26 when the scaffolding they were on collapsed – they each fell about 30 feet and all three were airlifted to the hospital – the other two injured workers are recovering – one is still in the hospital and one has been released)

FALL out of FRONT END LOADER BUCKET County worker recovering from fall (a county employee appears to be recovering after falling off a front end loader – he is in the Intensive Care Unit – he had been in the bucket of the front end loader near the intersection of Spring Hill Drive and Pinehurst when the accident occurred – the man was in the bucket of the vehicle at an unknown height and that he fell out after it hit a bump – “She added that there isn’t an explanation as to why the man would be in the bucket”)

FATAL FALL Authorities ID worker killed after falling at Hyperion sewage treatment plant in Playa del Rey (a worker, 30, was killed when he fell roughly 30 feet at the sewage treatment plant – he died when the wall he was working on collapsed)

FATAL FALL Worker Falls & Dies At K-State Stadium (a construction worker, 26, plummeted to his death while working on a University football stadium – the mason fell 4 stories from a scaffold and died – he was doing masonry work on a platform on the east side of the stadium where renovations are underway – a wooden plank he was standing on suddenly shifted, creating a hole in the scaffolding that he fell through, sending him to the ground several stories below – he fell through and hit the scaffolding on the way down – he died at the stadium after falling 100 feet)

2 Different accidents with FATALITIES – TOW HOOK FATALITY and CRANE FATALITY in TRENCH Two Die In Unrelated Fort Bend County Industrial Accidents, Sheriff’s Office Investigating Fatalities (a pair of unrelated industrial accidents took the lives of two construction workers – a worker, 32, was killed in an accident involving a pair of concrete trucks in a subdivision about 11 a.m. – two hours later, a worker, 28, died when he was struck by a large metal form being lifted by a crane – in the first incident, a construction crew was working on a roadway in the subdivision when a concrete truck became stuck on a slight hill – after initial attempts to free the truck failed, a second concrete truck was called in to try to free the first truck – a huge strap was attached to the first truck and when the second truck began pulling it, a large steel hook fastened to the second truck by steel bolts and plates broke free – the hook then struck the victim, who was standing behind the first truck – he was transported to a Hospital where he was pronounced dead – shortly after 1 p.m., another construction worker was killed while working on a water detention facility – the victim was working about 25 feet down in a trench while a crane was lifting a metal form overheard – the form slipped and struck the victim in the head, killing him)

TRENCH Man Rescued from Trench Now in Stable Condition (two construction workers were in the trench when it collapsed – construction worker who was buried waist-deep in a trench outside a house was rescued by firefighters and hospitalized at a Shock Trauma in critical condition – a second worker who was in the trench when it collapsed was rescued shortly after firefighters arrived and was not hospitalized – the two workers were trapped after a trench in which they were working collapsed)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Roofer taken to Mercy after fall in Mt. Washington (a roofer was hospitalized in critical condition after falling from scaffolding – he slipped or fell about 11:30 a.m. from a wooden scaffold two stories high outside a vacant house being renovated)

CRANE Crane flips over at Naples mansion (a crane flipped over at a home – both diesel fuel and hydraulic fuel leaked out of this crane when it flipped, and has been leaking for the last 24 hours it’s been on it’s side – the 103 foot crane flipped when it was trying to move a large palm tree to the otherside of the pool area – no one was hurt – crane cost about $280,000 and has extensive damage)

CRANE Crane Overturns at Stafford Construction Site (a two-hundred foot tall crane overturned at a construction site around 10:48 a.m. – the crane fell onto a building under construction – there was significant damage to the building and crane but no injuries were reported)

CRANE Crane topples at water treatment plant (a crane toppled over at a Water Treatment Plant causing a power outage – the crane accident occurred around 11:30 a.m. at the plant – the crane damaged the Electric Department’s conductor, which feeds from a power supply)

MIscellaneouS

LAWN MOWER FATALITY Worker killed in accident at Va golf course ID’ed (a worker, 42, was killed in an accident at a golf course – he was crushed by a lawn sprayer – he died of mechanical asphyxiation – he was in charge of grounds maintenance)

LAWN MOWER FATALITY Homewood city worker killed in accident (an employee of the city was killed when a lawn mower rolled down an embankment about 2 p.m.)

FATALITY – CRUSHED by LOADING DECK Man who died at airport identified (worker, 29, died after being trapped for hours under a machine at a cargo facility at the airport – he was crushed when a loading dock on a hydraulic lift somehow collapsed at the facility located on the north end of the airport around 4 p.m. – five dozen firefighters worked nearly three hours to free him – they had a helicopter on stand-by to take him to a hospital, but he didn’t survive – he was semi-conscious for a short while, but died before they reached him – firefighters were able to use a crane to remove the loading deck – the cargo facility was undergoing renovations, but it was unclear if the accident was related to the construction – “The machine operates by a button or a control to net it down or up, so someone probably didn’t know the guy was under there and pressed the down thing,” speculated Emmanuel Cummings, who works near the machine)

SPRINKLER FATALITY on FARM Young worker killed in Dyer agricultural accident (a young irrigation construction worker has been killed on a farm when a heavy piece of equipment fell onto him – a three-person crew was righting the rig that had been knocked over by flooding in April when the 19-year-old was killed – the crew was trying to right a section of a 1,435-foot-long crop sprinkling system when it fell, striking him in the head)

MOWER FATALITY Woman mowing grass dies; trapped beneath tractor (a woman who was mowing grass along the Hurricane Flood Protection levee died when she was ejected and trapped beneath a tractor – a 911 call at about 2 p.m. reported the accident – a co-worker discovered the body of the 49-year-old woman and called 911)

PROPANE CYLINDER EXPLOSION Man Injured In Brentwood Propane Tank Explosion (a food truck worker is in the hospital with serious burns after a propane tank exploded at about 5:20 p.m. – firefighters were not sure what caused the propane tank to malfunction – the victim, a man in his 30s, suffered second and third degree burns on his arms)