# Horrible AND fascinating catastrophic workplace accident videos **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 9, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548 "2021-02-09T19:30:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/61 "2021-02-18T01:23:37Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > The video does omit the part where a worker making the last cut did not manage to get into the gondola they where using. And all it would have taken to save his life is a rope and harness. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/62 "2021-02-18T11:14:07Z")
I am from Mumbai, and have lived decades there. The Mumbai suburban railway system is a killing field. As you mentioned, about 10 people die ghastly deaths every single day - most are crushed while crossing the railway tracks, and many die falling out of incredibly overcrowded trains. I have witnessed the gruesome aftermath of numerous such accidents. More depressing is the way it has just become an accepted part of life in Mumbai. People just shrug, curse the delay, and move on. There is little compassion for a fellow human being lying slaughtered under the wheels. Not that the people of Mumbai are a bad lot; they have just become numbed to this unending atrocity. It is one of the reasons I will never live in Mumbai again, though it is a truly great city in many respects. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/63 "2021-02-18T15:02:19Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > And all it would have taken to save his life is a rope and harness. An awful lot of workplace accidents and workplace illness and workplace fatalities can be avoided with relatively simple & cheap interventions. Compliance with this stuff may be better in richer countries and in richer industries. But it’s still well short of 100%. Sometimes due to worker indifference, but more often due to management pressure, overt or implied. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/64 "2021-02-18T15:23:57Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I’ve heard claims that SL-1 might have been murder/suicide, not an accident. Allegedly one of the operators was having an affair with the spouse of his co-worker. Both of them died in the disaster. Heard that too. Along with the jape, “Leave it to the Army to think of using nuclear power as a better way to throw a spear…” A lot of energy in a system like that. Video of the [SNERT](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIhafVX_6I) test, where a reactor excursion was deliberately induced. FF to about 3:30 to see the explosive disassembly. Have we covered “[Klaus, the forklift driver on his first day at work](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N9JbSip8qrI),” yet? It’s a German workplace safety video, and about 15 minutes long, but the hijinks get started about two minutes in. Gets Romero-esque in parts. Be careful with forklifts… ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/65 "2021-02-18T15:29:27Z")
IIRC, the young man’s parents gave permission to use the footage of him in that hospital bed. My understanding is he died a few hours later. I hope the safety message sunk in. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/66 "2021-02-18T16:31:28Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Video of the [SNERT](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIhafVX_6I) test, where a reactor excursion was deliberately induced. FF to about 3:30 to see the explosive disassembly. Great link; thank you. But it’s SPERT not SNERT; Googling wasn’t working well for me until I broke the code. > **[Special Power Excursion Reactor Test Program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Power_Excursion_Reactor_Test_Program)** > > The Special Power Excursion Reactor Test Program (SPERT) was a series of tests focusing on the safety of nuclear reactors. It was commissioned in 1954 by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, to be run by the Phillips Petroleum Company. > The SPERT-I reactor became operational in July 1955, with the first tests being performed in September. > The SPERT-II reactor became operational in March 1960. Here’s the AEC briefing film on the SL-1 accident [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AWi_w2H1saE/hqdefault.jpg "Nuclear Power Reactor - The SL-1 Accident Video: Briefing Film Report - 1961 - CharlieDeanArchives") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWi_w2H1saE) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/67 "2021-02-18T16:54:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Compliance with this stuff may be better in richer countries and in richer industries. But it’s still well short of 100%. Sometimes due to worker indifference, but more often due to management pressure, overt or implied. It seems like I regularly see news pieces about utility workers who have died in trench collapse incidents, despite the required use of **[trench boxes](https://www.google.com/search?q=trench+box&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwixqpXX8vPuAhVvF1kFHR6XANoQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=trench+box&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQsQMyAggAMgQIABBDMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIAFD-lAFYmpYBYImaAWgAcAB4AIABYYgBlgKSAQEzmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=aZsuYPHRGe-u5NoPnq6C0A0&bih=1540&biw=1705&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS930US931)**. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/68 "2021-02-18T17:07:34Z")
Yeah. IIRC we had a thread here a few years ago about one of those accidents. Wherein per news reports the dead worker had complained to his family about the company’s refusal to use the required trench boxes, and that he himself was scared / phobic of dying in a wall collapse event. But critically, he wasn’t scared enough to a) quit that job, and b) drop a dime on his employer to the regulator. As long as workers keep going into unsafe holes, they’ll keep dying in them. In many cases management is happy to let you the worker run those risks. Whether through malice, greed, wishful thinking, or plain ignorance, the result is the same: the accident is inevitable. The only uncertainties are where, when, and to whom. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/69 "2021-02-18T19:48:21Z")
Yeah, in 2000 we lost a worker in a tunnel collapse at Dulles Airport, right next to the capital of the US. Despite the fact that mining and trench safety measures have been understood, used, and improved since the Middle Ages. You’d think by now we’d be sophisticated enough to handle dirt safely. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/70 "2021-02-19T02:38:19Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > It seems like I regularly see news pieces about utility workers who have died in trench collapse incidents, despite the required use of **[trench boxes](https://www.google.com/search?q=trench+box&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwixqpXX8vPuAhVvF1kFHR6XANoQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=trench+box&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQsQMyAggAMgQIABBDMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIAFD-lAFYmpYBYImaAWgAcAB4AIABYYgBlgKSAQEzmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=aZsuYPHRGe-u5NoPnq6C0A0&bih=1540&biw=1705&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS930US931)**. Here’s one I saw posted today. Comments suggest the worker didn’t make it. No gore, just a (terrifying looking) trench collapsing but blurred for NSFW. [reddit.com: over 18?](https://old.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/lmiyuz/sides_collapse_during_pipe_laying_1_man_injured/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/71 "2021-02-19T02:47:03Z")
Not exactly the same thing but I remember an incident a couple of decades ago when a couple of phone company employees in Connecticut who were down a manhole working on an issue were overcome by sewer gases. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/72 "2021-02-19T04:36:51Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > One video out of India showed a man climb atop an electrified railroad passenger car. Despite screams from people on the ground, he touched the overhead wire. There wasn’t even that much left after the arc flash accident that killed one Eddie Adams (search on YouTube if you want). One science fiction site (eta: formerly) linked to that as an example of what would happen if someone was literally vaporized. Nothing much to see, just a huge flash and he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/73 "2021-02-19T10:54:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not exactly the same thing but I remember an incident a couple of decades ago when a couple of phone company employees in Connecticut who were down a manhole working on an issue were overcome by sewer gases. Confined-space incidents seem to be about as common as trench collapses. They are even more insidious because when one worker collapses in the confined space, other workers feel compelled to attempt a rescue - and without adequate gear, they are quickly overcome by the same gases that took down the first worker. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/74 "2021-02-20T04:02:50Z")
I’ve heard that in parts of South Asia, some railyards actually have families, or at least people, living in between the tracks. They survive on whatever falls off the trains. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/75 "2021-02-20T04:04:43Z")
Except for the last few seconds, that film could be used by Rifftrax or MST3K! While using attractive women as props wouldn’t fly now, I do understand why it was done at the time, and I’ll admit, I chuckled myself, especially at the bra-burning scene. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/76 "2021-02-20T12:04:58Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Here’s one I saw posted today. Comments suggest the worker didn’t make it. The trench in that clip is not only very deep, but it also has way too vertical walls. Collapse is basically a given, when there’s just about zero sloping of the walls. Without trench boxes, the only way to make a deep cut into the soil safely is to cut a way bigger hole than what’s technically needed. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/77 "2021-02-20T14:18:33Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I work at a government safety agency and I am familiar with a bunch of industrial accidents that would turn one’s bowels to water. I work in property/casualty insurance, and I used to have to read serious claim reports. They are depressing as all get out. I have no interest in seeing the video versions. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/78 "2021-02-21T12:42:09Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard that in parts of South Asia, some railyards actually have families, or at least people, living in between the tracks. They survive on whatever falls off the trains. Whatever, or _who_ever? Meat’s meat when you’re hungry. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/79 "2021-02-21T15:52:50Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > how do you clean up a mess like that? At least that runaway rod can be cut and hauled off. This factory has new aluminum flooring 3" thick: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qK626DpxhBI/hqdefault.jpg "Potline accident...") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK626DpxhBI) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548/80 "2021-02-22T06:08:38Z")
Somewhere out there, a factory worker who’s really, _really_ sick of sweeping the floor is getting ideas… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-and-fascinating-catastrophic-workplace-accident-videos/932548.md?page=5)