Peru
Human error, fog and roadworks implicated
in bus crash
Human error is being speculated as the likeliest cause of yesterday's bus crash
which killed 32 people and left another 11 injured when a coach of the San Juan
de Yauyos company left the road by the Auco bridge spanning the River Canete.
Roadworks in this area of Cerro Loro would certainly have narrowed the highway
and fog was prevailing locally as the coach travelled from Lima to Yauyos.
9th May 2008.
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Japan
Fatal explosion at Toyota plant testing
unit
A 24-year old worker was killed in an explosion in a testing unit on Wednesday
at Toyota Industries Corporation in Obu where compression devices for vehicle
air conditioning are manufactured. He was using a quality inspection device
which gauges residue on aluminium piston parts, the latter are immersed in a
tank of chemical solution at a temperature of 530ºC.
8th May 2008.
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USA
Worker killed in fall down shaft at
Florida site
A Florida worker died in a fall of 4 storeys down an empty shaft at the site of
a new parking garage on South Pennsylvania Avenue, Winter Park, Orlando, he was
working at a wall, a section of which fell down with him.
7th May 2008.
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Jamaica
Scaffold fatality at hotel site
A 23-year old construction worker has fallen an unspecified distance to his
death while handling scaffolding at part of the Iberostar Hotel site in St
James, he died later in Mo-Bay Hope Hospital from his injuries.
7th May 2008.
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China
Shanghai bus fire kills 3 people
An outbreak of fire and an explosion on a bus on Monday in the Yangpu district
of northeast Shanghai killed 3 people and left 20 others injured, no cause for
the incident has yet been established.
6th May 2008.
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Sudan
Derailment kills 15 university students
At least 15 students of Kordofan University died when 20 carriages of a train in
which they were travelling derailed near Al-Foula in south Kordofan.
6th May 2008.
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Australia
Processor's toxic shock syndrome from
infected pork
The first official case of streptococcus suis toxic shock syndrome has been
detailed of a pig processing worker at a pet food processing plant in Melbourne.
The incident occurred last April but the worker made a full recovery from the
infection, contracted by inhalation or open wound contact with an infected
carcass. Three years ago more than 100 Chinese butchers died from such an
infection. 5th May 2008.
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Slovakia
Boy pulled out of disused mine shaft
A 10-year old boy was rescued on Sunday after
falling into a 70-metre deep disused mine shaft at Roznava in southeast
Slovakia. The boy had been playing with friends in an area of thick undergrowth
above the shaft, it took some time for rescuers to locate the exact spot. Fire
crews used cables and an improvised frame stretcher to lift him out, the
condition of his injuries remains unknown.
5th May 2008.
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Australia
Boy,4, killed in tractor accident
Workplace Health & Safety in Queensland is investigating an accident on farm
land near Allora, Darling Downs, in which a 4-year old was injured in a tractor
accident, he died in Warwick Hospital from blunt force abdominal injuries.
3rd May 2008.
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South Africa
Cage cable failure kills 9 gold miners
Rope failure caused a cage lowering 9 miners at Gold Fields' South Deep mine to
fall almost 60 metres on Thursday, killing all 9 who were being taken down to
110 level 2,862 metres underground. Gold Fields have suspended all work
underground below level 95.
8 of the dead workers were employees of Murray & Roberts Cementation, the other
was a Gold Fields' worker. A total of 14 miners have now died in this area in
the last week, and Thursday's accident was the second such cable failure in 2
years at the twin-mine shaft.
2nd May 2008.
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Egypt
Speeding implicated in Sinai bus crash
Speeding is speculated as the likeliest cause of the bus crash near Wadi
Ghandal, 45 miles south of Suez, in which 9 passengers died and 28 were injured.
The bus failed to negotiate a tight bend and burst into flames after
overturning, the 40 European and Canadian passengers were travelling from Sharm
el-Sheik to Cairo.
2nd May 2008.
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Malaysia
Worker killed as emergency transmission
tower collapses
The Department of Occupational Safety & Health is investigating an accident in
which an employee of Tenaga Nasional Berhad was killed when an emergency
transmission tower collapsed at Suang Parai Inanam where 1 of its 4 retaining
cables detached, 4 other workers are being treated for injuries at Queen
Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu.
1st May 2008.
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Japan
Girl injured on roller coaster ride
A 10-year old girl broke her collarbone after being pitched against a boundary
wall while riding on the Labyrinth ride at Himeji Central Park, Himeji. The
8-seater mini-coaster ride has a top speed of 25mph as it negotiates the
400-metre course and features a bar at knee level, seatbelts and a hand bar.
After an accident 5 years ago a minimum customer height of 130cm was introduced.
It is thought that the height of the girl, whose upper body hit the wall as the
ride negotiated a curve, slightly exceeded this limit.
1st May 2008.
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India
Worker killed in fire at textile factory
It is thought that an electrical malfunction caused yesterday's fire at Saira
Garments textile factory in Nodia (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority),
southeast Delhi, in which a 25-year old worker was killed and another has
critical 75% burns.
10th May 2008.
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Switzerland
Worker pinned by vehicle at metal works
Investigators are studying a workplace fatality which has occurred at a
metal works in Appenzell where a worker died from crush injuries, he was
discovered half-inside, half-out of a vehicle which was pinning him against a
wall, he had been operating the vehicle and was preparing for its loading.
9th May 2008.
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Australia
Falling concrete killed Queensland worker
Investigators were studying a fatal accident yesterday at the Dalrymple Bay Coal
Terminal in central Queensland where a worker was crushed by substantial
sections of concrete from a demolished bridge. He had apparently been attempting
to remove timber sections from the front of the load but lost his balance and
fell under it. 8th May
2008.
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France
Boy injured in fairground fall
A 7-year old boy was badly injured after falling 5 metres from a ride at a fair
in Nerac, 80 miles southeast of Bordeaux, he slipped off his seat during the
ride's vertical movement, the ride features a 15-seat mounting and 2 articulated
arms and is now subject to a technical inspection.
7th May 2008.
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Norway
Fire and mass evacuation in central Oslo
hotel
Fire broke out in a storage room on the 17th floor of the Radisson SAS Plaza
hotel in central Oslo on Tuesday morning, more than 1,000 people were evacuated
from the hotel which was hosting a medical conference.
7th May 2008.
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USA
Handling fatality at Pennsylvanian
recycling plant
A 60-year old worker has died in an accident at RPM Recycling in Plainfield,
Pennsylvania, he died from head injuries when a heavy metal sorting tray fell on
him as he and a colleague were raising it into position. It is believed that a
weld in the tray failed. 6th
May 2008.
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Brazil
Amazon boat sinking leaves scores missing
12 people have drowned and at least 40 are missing following the sinking on
Sunday of the Comandante Sales boat at Laranjal on the Solimoes River, 50 miles
from Manaus.
The boat's passenger capacity was 80 persons, it is alleged that as many as 150
may have been on board, mostly younger people returning from a festival at an
Amazonian fishing community. The locality of Manacapuru where the incident
occurred sees the Solimoes run to depths of 100 metres.
5th May 2008.
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USA
Mississippi boiler explosion fatality
A contract worker was killed in a boiler explosion at the weekend during
maintenance work in the steam room area of International Paper Company's plant
in Redwood, southwest Mississippi, it is thought that the explosion occurred as
the boiler was being reactivated. The explosion left 17 other contract workers
with burns of varying severity.
5th May 2008.
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Sudan
Plane crash kills 21 in southern Sudan
A plane crash in southern Sudan on Friday killed 21 people, the 2 crew members
and 19 passengers, including the Defence Minister for Southern Sudan.
3rd May 2008.
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Italy
5 French mountaineers killed in Piedmont
avalanche
An avalanche at Pian di Basci on the Gran Paradiso in Piedmont has killed 5
French mountaineers at an altitude of 2,500 metres, the party's French guide has
been hospitalised in Aosta and is in semi-conscious condition.
2nd May 2008.
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Canada
Worker pinned under landfill bulldozer
A worker at Ridge Landfill, between Blenheim and Ridgetown, Ontario, has been
critically injured after a bulldozer he was operating slid down a gradient at
the site owned by Browning Ferris Industries.
1st May 2008.
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The Netherlands
Child injured by horse at market
A girl was badly injured on Wednesday in an accident involving a horse at a
market in Zwijndrecht, details of how she fell under the horse have yet to
ascertained. 1st May 2008.
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Australia
Site crane falls into Sydney bus depot
A falling crane came dangerously close to killing 2 workers on Thursday at a bus
depot in Balmain Road in the Sydney district of Leichhardt, the crane was
operating on an adjacent site to the garage and was attempting to lift a
concrete section when it became unstable and fell, both men were working on the
bus at the time of the accident but escaped with light injuries.
9th May 2008.
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USA
Passing train's boarding ladder kills
track worker
A tracks worker of A-Ceco Inc has been killed after being struck by a southbound
Amtrak Californian Pacific Surfliner in Santa Fe Springs, the victim had been
working on a closed track but his handling of materials saw him move close to a
track in service where he was clipped by the passing Amtrak's boarding ladders.
9th May 2008.
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Switzerland
Bortribromide spillage in Basle lab
A container of bortribromide fell at a laboratory in Belchen Street in Basle on
Wednesday, 3 lab workers required hospital treatment after attempting to contain
the spillage. 8th May
2008.
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Thailand
Falling tree kills coconut worker's son
A falling mango tree came down on a house in a coconut plantation in Koh Samui,
Surat Thani, an accident which has killed a 9-year old boy, his parents managed
to escape the accident which destroyed the house.
7th May 2008.
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Latvia
Cruise ship grounds on sand bank
The Bahamas-registered cruise ship Mona Lisa, with 651 passengers and 320 crew,
ran aground on a sand bank in the Orbe straits off northwest Latvia, on Sunday
as it was sailing from Tallinn to Riga, a tug later attempted to pull the 173-metre long
boat out into deeper water.
5th May 2008.
Update. On Monday all
passengers were evacuated after 4 tugs had failed to tow the Mona Lisa off the
sand bank. 6th May
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France
Aviation accident in Le Mans
A pilot was killed on Friday when his plane developed technical problems shortly
after take-off from Le Mans airport and crashed at the Le Mans 24 Hours racing
circuit. 3rd May 2008.
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Japan
Issue of pilot's fitness to fly
Police in Osaka are assessing whether a violation of Civil Aeronautics Law has
taken place in respect of the granting of a pilot's licence by a doctor to an
aviator who had a clinical record of sarcoidosis, a condition which impairs
vision and produces breathing problems. According to the Construction and
Transport Ministry's manual for aviation medical examination, this condition
debars an individual from obtaining a pilot's licence. The pilot of Osaka
Aviation was allegedly granted a licence in February 2007, despite having this
pre-existing condition. He died in an air accident last October, crashing on the
Nankai Electric Railway line .
3rd May 2008.
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Ireland
Worker killed at Galway Sportsground
HSA is investigating a midweek accident at the site of the new gym at the rear
of the Galway Sportsground on College Road where a worker has died in an
industrial accident.
2nd May 2008.
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Bulgaria
TV bus overturns east of Sofia
A coach carrying a Bulgarian National Television crew and equipment on
assignment crashed on Thursday between Panadiuriate and Pazardzik, of 6 staff
injured some have fractures and severe concussion.
2nd May 2008.
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Ukraine
Woman killed in bears' cage
A woman died after entering a bear's cage at an animal farm near Donetsk, 2
bears were in the cage at the time, it remains unclear why she entered or how
she gained access. 1st May
2008.
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England
Machine crush fatality at Yorks printers
A worker has died after becoming trapped in machinery at the printing premises
of the Bezier group in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
10th May 2008.
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England
Risks not controlled, man badly injured
Trak Build Ltd of Hemel Hempstead, the principal contractor, and contractor
Midland Steel Structures Ltd of Coventry have each been fined £10,000 with costs
of £8,279 for failures to control risks during work which resulted in a serious
head injury to a man who now requires 24-hour daily care, and will continue to do so
for as long as he lives.
On 11th October 2006, on a site in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, the accident victim
fell down a concrete staircase while it was being installed, risk assessment by
both convicted parties had been inadequate for the work which involved lifting
equipment. 9th May 2008.
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Wales
Roofing company proprietor jailed
The proprietor of North Eastern Roofing based in Bridgend has received a
10-month custodial sentence having admitted manslaughter in the circumstances of
the death of a 17-year old workman in 2003 who fell 10m through a roof light on
retail premises in Cwmbran.
The proprietor must also pay £18,000 costs.
8th May
2008.
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England
Man, 27, killed in Manchester roof fall
A man has recently fallen 15m to his death as he worked to place a TV antenna on
to a residential block of properties.
The flatted properties in Didsbury are owned by Guinness Northern Counties
Housing Association. 7th May
2008.
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Scotland
80 tonne crane collapses
A crane has failed under load at the BAE Systems shipyard in Govan. One man
required to be taken to hospital with minor injuries, 2 colleagues were treated
at the scene, the jib of the crane sheared away completely.
6th May 2008.
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England
Blast kills Lancs man
It is reported that a man has died at industrial premises in Houghton Road,
St Helens, the report states that he was injured by an explosion as he was
cutting into a drum. 5th May
2008.
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England
Window company rebuked over standards
Window replacement company Everest Ltd of Potters Bar has been fined £6,000 with
£15,963 costs by Luton Magistrates after pleading guilty to breaching health and
safety law including the Work At Height Regulations 2005.
During July and November 2006, an HSE inspector passed residential properties in
Luton where Everest Ltd was contracted to perform domestic roofline
refurbishment, and this work involved persons working at height from mobile
tower scaffolds and associated work platforms. There was an absence of suitable
protection to prevent the workmen falling, and the inspector took immediate
enforcement action, serving a Prohibition Notice which stopped the work at 2
sites. 3rd May 2008.
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England
Avoidable, tragic accident
Corus UK Ltd has been fined £170,000 with costs of £30,000 for breaching health
and safety law over the death on 2nd July 2003 of an employee at its Brinsworth,
Rotherham, site. The deceased was killed whilst working underneath a crane,
investigation found a limit switch fitted to the crane was defective, allowing
the hoist rope to over-tighten and snap, and a 260kg block fell on to him from a
height of 7 metres.
An HSE Inspector commented: "This was a tragic and entirely avoidable accident.
The limit switch fitted to this crane to prevent over hoisting was a safety
critical device. It should have been properly maintained in a safe working
condition, and regularly tested. The fact that these simple measures were not
taken led to this tragic death. "
2nd May 2008.
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England
Motocross circuit death
It is reported that a teenager died following an accident at Flackwell Heath,
Bucks, while participating in an event on Sunday, HSE is investigating.
1st May 2008.
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