How do you lose fingers in tug-of-war?

[pulykamell]

There’s some info on the Wikipedia page about tug-of-war injuries, including the report of the arm severing incident in Taiwan.

Some notable tug of war accidents include: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, June 13, 1978, rope parted, five teenagers lost fingers or fingertips, 200 other injuries. Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 9, 1995, a man had his hand torn off (avulsion) by sudden pull (his hand was in a loop). Taipei, Taiwan, October 25, 1997, rope parted, two men suffer arm amputations (details below). Australia, September, 2002, 11-year old boy has several fingers cut to the bone and nearly severed. Denver, Colorado, October 12, 2007, two teenage boys, rope looped around hands, suffer hand amputations. Digby, Nova Scotia, October 25, 2010, rope looped around hand, man loses four fingers. El Monte, California, February 4, 2013, rope parted, teenage boy and girl each suffer multi-finger amputations.

(And, a bit of trivia, tug-of-war was an Olympic sport from 1900-1920).