Thursday 9 October 2014

America's worst worksite disasters


When measured in lives lost during concentrated periods of time, these accidents are the worst ones in America.

April 16, 1947: Texas City, Texas, dockside explosion takes close to 600 lives

One of the largest non-nuclear explosions in American history, this accident began early in the day when a fire broke out on the French-registered ship, the SS Grandcamp, detonating the docked ship's cargo – approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate.

Its cargo exploded, starting a chain reaction of fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities and killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City Fire Department. Not all the bodies were recovered, rendering an accurate fatality count impossible.

Sept. 11, 2001: The World Trade Center towers collapse, burying 403 public safety workers

Terrorists attacking the World Trade Center killed 2,973 persons, including 403 New York City public safety responders. While the deaths could be construed as occupational, the deaths of public safety workers were most definitely arising out of and in the course of employment. Their deaths were all the more painful given that New York City was put on notice during a 1993 bomb attack that its fire and police departments were dangerously unable to communicate easily, but they had failed to remedy the problem.

1927: Hawks Nest, West Virginia, tunnel leads to hundreds of deaths from dust

As part of a dam project, a tunnel was constructed to handle the flow of a diverted river. Construction on the three-mile tunnel began in 1927, employing largely black workers, who were not provided protective equipment to guard against dust. Many contracted silicosis-related diseases and soon died. The minimum death count was 201, but total estimates exceeded 476.

Dec. 6, 1907: Fairmont Coal Company mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia, takes 362 lives

The nation’s worst mining disaster killed 362 miners at the Consolidation Coal Company mine. Mining has remained for decades the most likely location of multiple workplace deaths from single incidents. The Sago Mine collapse on Jan. 2, 2006, in Sago, West Virginia, killed 12 workers. The worst mine disaster in the past 40 years occurred on April 5, 2010, at the Upper Big Branch underground mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, killing 29 of the 31 miners who were underground at the time.

Feb. 2, 1982: Offshore oil rig founders, causing 84 deaths

The Mobil-operated Ocean Ranger rig, 166 miles east of Newfoundland, failed, and the entire crew sought to escape by life rafts. Nobody was wearing protective suits, which have since become standard equipment on rigs and watercraft, and they all perished. When the Gulf of Mexico-based Deep Water Horizon rig blew up on April 20, 2010, 11 workers died.

Lesser but not forgotten tragedies include:

- The Willow Creek Power Plant in St. Marys, West Virginia, the largest vertical construction disaster, killed 45 workers in 1978 when scaffolding collapsed.
- The Texas City British Petroleum refinery explosion in 2005, which took 17 lives.
- The Imperial Sugar explosion in Port Wentworth, Georgia, killed 13 in 2008.
- A train collision in Granite, South Carolina, ripped open a Norfolk and Southern Railroad tank car containing chlorine, killing nine workers, in 2005.
- A South Canyon wildfire near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, killed 14 firefighters in 1994, prompting a major overhaul of emergency response guidelines through America.
- A small passenger plane crash in 2005, caused by a plane stalling on its approach to the Pueblo, Colorado, airport, killing eight passengers on a corporate visit and crew.
- A fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, in 2014, killing 15 people, some of whom were workers.
Thursday 9 October 2014

https://ww3.workcompcentral.com/columns/show/id/cba986a82f9dce28908798f0930327b4564c21ab

continue reading

Several dead as wedding boat sinks near Bali


Nineteen people have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying 49 people, including a groom and his wedding guests, sunk on its way to the Indonesian island of Bali earlier this week.

Rescuers found two bodies on Thursday, taking the death toll to 19, including three children, said Asnawi, the head of the search operation who goes by one name.

Eight people were rescued on Wednesday when they were spotted by fishermen floating in the water 3km from Pulau Raas, off the eastern tip of main Java island.

Asnawi said 22 people remain missing, all the passengers were believed to be Indonesian.

The groom was on his way to get married on Monday evening, while his wife waited for him and the guests to arrive at her home village on Bali.

"The wedding ceremony was supposed to start in the evening," said Ainur Rasyid, who lives near the groom on the small island of Pulau Raas.

The parents of the groom, called Ahmad Yani, and other relatives were also on the boat heading to the wedding, he said.

The boat was supposed to arrive on Monday afternoon, but began taking on water and sank after its engine failed according to officials.

Poor safety record

Indonesia relies heavily on boats for transportation to and from more than 17,000 islands, but has a poor maritime safety record.

Boats are often overcrowded and not properly equipped with enough life jackets and life boats.

In August, a tour boat carrying 25 people sank as it made its way from the island of Lombok near Bali to Komodo Island, a popular tourist destination.

Most of the passengers, who were mainly European tourists, survived.

Some had to swim a great distance to a volcanic island and stayed alive until being rescued by drinking their own urine and eating leaves. Two Spanish men were never found.

Thursday 9 October 2014

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/10/several-dead-as-wedding-boat-sinks-near-bali-201410951750418857.html

continue reading