| Rep Ireland Airport responds to bird strike incident Ireland West Airport(Knock) has amended its safety manual to now feature bird patrols prior to all aircraft departures and arrivals. On October 19th 2009, an aircraft flying to Manchester with 127 passengers experienced damage to both engines when it struck a flock of lapwings and had to divert to Shannon. AAIU(Air Accident Investigation Unit) investigation found that no bird patrols had been undertaken in the 2.5 hours prior to the incident. 26th January 2011 |
| Singapore Naphtha spillage ignited at refinery fire MUN Siong Engineering was fined $100K(£49,380) over a fatal accident at the Exxon Mobil oil refinery at Pulan Ayer Chawan on Jurong Island in which 3 workers died in a fire. When a steel plate between 2 heat exchangers was removed, liquid with naphtha spilled. Instead of using a drip pan to collect the spillage, water was used and within 10 minutes the flammable liquid ignited. 26th January 2011 |
| England Contractors failed to replace lift shaft guard rails At Lewes Crown Court Brighton Construction Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches of health and safety legislation in respect of an accident 14 months ago in which a worker delivering kitchen units at the new Ocean Height apartment complex in Brighton fractured his spine and pelvis in a 10-metre fall into an open lift shaft. Although guard-rails had been positioned around the open shaft, these had been removed by maintenance workers and had not been re-positioned after the maintenance work. Sentence was deferred until 3rd March. 25th January 2011 |
| Austria Piste worker rides into taut cable A worker engaged on maintenance on snow-making machines has died on a piste at Nassfeld where the snowmobile he was riding ran into a taut metal cable which was anchoring machinery on a steep gradient. 25th January 2011 |
| EnglandFour die in Norfolk industrial accident Four workmen lost their lives in an industrial accident on Friday afternoon at the premises of Claxton Engineering in Great Yarmouth. Few details have been made available of the incident but reports suggest a steel structure may have collapsed or become otherwise unstable during foundation work being conducted by building contractors. 24th January 2011 |
| USA Crane collapse kills Florida port contractor A crane collapse claimed the life of a contract worker at the Talleyrand Marine Terminal in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday. The contractor was operating a crawler construction crane to dismantle and salvage sections of a gantry crane for scrap. However, during the work sections of the shipping crane fell on the cab of the portable crane, killing the operator. 24th January 2011 |
| Rep Ireland Lobster fisherman missing off Cork A search was ongoing yesterday afternoon for a fisherman missing in Ringabella Bay, Cork, when their lobster boat capsized south of Roche's Point, another fisherman managed to swim ashore. 20th January 2011 |
| Austria Child killed by piste machine A 5-year old boy was killed by piste -preparing machinery in Russbach, Salzburg. He and 6 other children had been in the company of an instructor whose attention was taken up by a girl who had fallen from a ski lift. The boy had been waiting beside the lift but curiosity caused him to wander on to the piste area. 20th January 2011 |
| England Black Country worker's fingers severed in power press JKL Industrial Services of Goscote, Wwest Midlands, were fined £5K plus £2,534 in costs after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety legislation over an accident in which a 19-year old worker lost finger sections in a power press on his first day at work. He was feeding steel strips into the press when his hand became trapped in an unguarded area, 2 fingers were amputated at the first joint. 20th January 2011 |
| Australia Shearer killed in equipment accident Safework South Australia has been informed of a fatal accident at a sheep farm near Tarlee, north of Adelaide, where a 29-year old shearer died when his shears recoiled and inflicted a fatal neck injury. 20th January 2011 |
| England Absence of training and risk assessment led to major injury A workman has not worked for 18 months following an industrial accident in which he fractured a leg. The accident victim was working at Stanley's Quarry in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, removing scants (pieces of stone pre-cut into a block) during July 2009, manually removing each piece with a forklift truck to transport them. The accident occurred because the stones were not adequately stabilised and a number of scants broke free and fell onto him, breaking his left leg in two places. HSE officials deemed that he should have not been working alone. He was unable to summon help, and resorted to using a hammer to move a lever on the forklift truck to lift the scants off his body and raise the alarm using the forklift horn. Investigation revealed the stones had been inadequately secured. The accident victim's line-manager had no relevant health and safety training. Additionally, the task had not been risk assessed and, as a consequence, no safe system of work had been devised. The owner of the quarry admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £5,000 plus £8,790 costs.19th January 2011 |
| England HGV driver trapped by glass load Poole fire crews had to deploy hydraulic cutting gear to free a lorry driver trapped in a tight space in the rear of his glass-laden lorry on the Nuffield Trading Estate where he was delivering to Dorset Glass. He had slipped and fallen into the tight space between the vehicle wall and 6-metre long glass sections, he was transferred to hospital with a serious back injury. 19th January 2011 |
| Rep Ireland Car salesman almost drowned by suicide driver A coroner in Howth has ruled a verdict of death by suicide in respect of a fatal accident at Howth harbour on July 13th last year in which a car driver drowned when the vehicle was driven off the pier into the sea. The driver was purportedly taking the car on a test drive, the proprietor of Beshoff Ltd Car Sales was in the passenger seat and came close to losing his life. He struggled to open the door of the submerged car on the harbour bottom but managed to swim up to safety. 19th January 2011 |
| England Unstable asphalt lorry on Devon street An asphalt-laden lorry became unstable during an attempt to tip its load at a site on Boot Hill, Weymouth, where Hanson are engaged on highway repair work. A wheelbarrow positioned at the rear of the lorry may have been implicated in the malfunction, a roads worker was fortunate to escape injury as he was in close proximity to the accident. 18th January 2011 |
| New Zealand British yachtsman feared drowned North Island coastguard has abandoned the search for a missing 77-year old British yachtsman whose boat, Boadecia, was found by divers submerged in 10 metres of water at Tapotupotu Bay, Cape Reinga. It is believed that he had set out from Opua marina, Bay of Islands, police have indicated that the coastguard had not been notified of his travel nor had he customs clearance, and that, although he was an experienced sailor, in their opinion the 7.6-metre yacht was not suitable for prevailing sea conditions off the north of North Island. 18th January 2011 |
| EnglandBuilder's death was accident An inquest jury has determined accidental death after listening to evidence concerning the electrocution of a self-employed workman on 6th December 2007 as he worked within a residential property in Dedham, Essex. He was discovered by the occupier of the residential property lying on the floor next to a live conductor, it was speculated that he had came into contact with the cable as he reached for a tool, as his work task gave him no reason to touch the cable. 17th January 2011 |
| Australia Mill worker killed in timber machine A 48-year old maintenance worker died in an accident at a timber mill in Oberon, New South Wales, where he was caught in machinery. 17th January 2011 |
| Belgium Brussels psychiatric unit fire Fifteen patients were treated for smoke inhalation following a fire in a patient's room on the 5th floor of the Sanatia psychiatric hospital in Saint-Josse(Sint-Joost-ten-Node), Brussels. Brussels-Noord police report that the patient alleged to have caused the fire has now been transferred to the Fond-Roy centre in Ukkel. 14th January 2011 |
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| Austria Worker injured in gas explosion A female member of staff was injured in a gas explosion at a coffee processing unit of the Grisseman food chain yesterday in Zams, the unit was just opening after having had gas installation work completed. 13th January 2011 |
| EnglandArmoured truck flattens property A military vehicle weighing almost 30 tonnes being taken from a low loader ran out of control from its operators and partly demolished a residential property in Portland, Devon. The transporter was parked on the Southwell Business Park, no one was injured. 13th January 2011 |
| EnglandLifting operation fine for Lincs company A workman sustained multiple major injuries when a 3-tonne process tank fell on him as a temporary lifting bracket welded to it failed as it was being lifted. Wefco (Gainsborough) Ltd admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for which it was fined £15,000 with costs of £5,000 at Lincoln Crown Court. An HSE official commented: "This was an incident that resulted in very serious injuries to a young man which could have been even worse. His injuries could have been avoided had a safe system of work been followed. Employers need to ensure that difficult lifting operations are planned beforehand and that correct lifting equipment is being used. An incident like this demonstrates how vital it is that safe working procedures are communicated to and understood by people who carry out such lifting tasks. Supervision is also imperative and managers need to monitor the workplace of employees to ensure that safe working procedures are being followed and corners are not being cut." 12th January 2011 |
| EnglandSystem of work was unsafe for lifting of steel section A building company had no suitable risk assessment in place for a task that required a 92kg section of steel to be put in place during the construction of a house extension. HSE inspectors observed 4 workmen lifting the steelwork from the floor onto a scaffold before standing on the platform to place the steel in position, but no measures were employed to prevent falls, no edge protection was in place. DA Cook (Builders) Limited of Winchcombe admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £2,000 with costs of £3,800. 12th January 2011 |
| England Fall from roof at Lancs stable A 49-year old Lancashire worker was admitted to Royal Preston Hospital with back injuries after falling from the roof of a stable at Bashall Hall. 11th January 2011 |
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| Rep Ireland Hotel guest dies of suspected CO poisoning A woman in her 30's died in Cork University Hospital on Sunday after having been admitted with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. She had been occupying a room at the Trident Hotel, Kinsale, her roommate has also been hospitalised in serious condition, 5 people in all are believed to have been affected.10th January 2011 |
| USA Worker killed in manhole confined space accident A construction worker, believed to have been an employee of J Ramey Construction, died in a confined space accident in a manhole at Salem Lake in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during maintenance work on valves. Some colleagues who were either working with him or attempting a rescue were also injured in the oxygen-deficient atmosphere. 10th January 2011 |
| Serbia 2 Nisava children killed by train Two children aged 9 and 17 were killed yesterday when they were struck by a train on the railway bridge spanning the Morava River in Doljevac, the Presevo-Nis line was closed pending investigation of the accident. 7th January 2011 |
| Austria Timber handling accidents A 64-year old worker was hospitalised with 3rd degree burns yesterday after falling into a brazier at a site where he was cutting timber in Markt Neuhodis. In Neumarkt a worker's thigh was broken when a felled tree came down on his leg, and in Piringsdorf a worker sustained a broken shin during the loading of wood on to a lorry. 7th January 2011 |
| Rep Ireland HSA to double farm visits The HSA has announced that it will make in excess of 3,000 farm safety inspections this year in response to last year's figures which saw 25 farm deaths, up from 11 in 2009. There will be a focus on farms being compliant with the mandatory Farm Safety Statement. Of last year's figures, 10 involved machinery or vehicles, 4 falls from height, 4 arboreal accidents, 3 involving stock and 2 involved level crossing incidents. Farm fatalities have fluctuated during the last decade: 22 in 2008; 11 in 2007; 18 in 2006; 18 in 2005; 13 in 2004; and 20 in 2003. I6th January 2011 |
| Poland Polish fire crew's unusual rescue A Polish fire master has been describing an unusual rescue to the media, involving a fire crew rescuing a deer stranded on an ice floe some 400 metres off Kolobrzeg, a rescue which posed serious risks for his men but which was accomplished safely. The firemen had to twice pull the animal on to their small motorboat and tie its legs together to keep the traumatised animal still. 6th January 2011 |
| Japan Missing doctor's plane recovered Rescuers were believed to have reached the site of a crashed light aircraft on Tuesday on the 942-metre high Mount Yago where a search was focussed for a missing doctor and his wife whose flight from Kumamoto to Kitakyushu was lost from radar shortly after departure from Kumamoto Airport. 5th January 2011 |
| USA Fatal trench collapse on Pennsylvania bridge An excavation collapsed yesterday on Linden Street Bridge in Allentown, Pennsylvania, killing a worker of J D Eckman Inc and injuring another. 5th January 2011 |
| China Contract helicopter hits power lines CLP Power has suspended all helicopter winching work after an accident yesterday in which a contract worker sustained fatal burns to 40% of his body and another was injured when they contacted an overhead high power line during work in Hong Kong. 4th January 2011 http://www.safetynews.co.uk/ |
