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James Madison University

2004

Excavation

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Ddasaccident546, Hd-Aid Oct 2004

Ddasaccident546, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

[Name removed] and myself were in the same location. 11:00 we started going to MCT teams and the smoke was coming out of demolition point, the team waited until 12:30 then as there was not apparently smoke in the demolition point the TL starting going to the demolition point for checking. And TL saw that both artillery were destroyed. In the nearest point a small amount of smoke was existing. He started to use fork shovel in the location and an explosion happened and a small fragment hit to the Right arm flesh of the TL. The sound and power …


Ddasaccident540, Hd-Aid Oct 2004

Ddasaccident540, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Deminer [the Victim] used his rake in normal manner. He set off a P4 MK1 antipersonnel mine with his 2-tooth heavy rake. Heavy rake bended but remained in one piece in the blast. Deminer was in perfect health and didn’t get bruises nor other minor injuries.


Ddasaccident533, Hd-Aid Sep 2004

Ddasaccident533, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 09.10hrs on the 22nd of September 2004, deminer [the Victim] was carrying out manual clearance using the prodding method on the northern side of Minefield 0011 at Ina Guuxaa. Whilst excavating earth at the front of his lane, he inadvertently detonated what is suspected to have been a P-4 anti personnel mine.


Ddasaccident460, Hd-Aid Sep 2004

Ddasaccident460, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

In a non-marked lane, deminer [Victim No.1] tried to identify the source of a metal-detector signal by using a prodder and an excavation tool. He possibly used the prodder and the excavation tool simultaneously to achieve higher productivity. The star of the PROM-1 was above the ground surface. Therefore it is not likely that the mine was activated with a prodder. It is most likely that it was activated with inappropriate excavation tool. The examination of the area cleared in the days before the accident leads to the conclusion that vertical excavation had been performed, which is characteristic for non-demining …


Ddasaccident416, Hd-Aid Sep 2004

Ddasaccident416, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

There is no definite explanation for how the incident happened. According to deminer, he used his tools slowly and correctly letting the rake to come towards himself by its own weight while pulling. Visual appearance of the incident lane supports this claim. Deminer’s raking tracks are visible, 50 cm in length and symmetrical.


Ddasaccident425, Hd-Aid Sep 2004

Ddasaccident425, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

[Name excised] and [name excised] will be sending you a very detailed report in the next few days. After seeing the site and the deminer I am going to ask him to buy my lottery ticket in the future!!. He was extremely lucky. He detonated an M4 mine 200g HE less than arms length away. He sustained a broken thumb and lacerations of his first two fingers and his face was badly bruised due to the visor hitting him due to the blast effect.


Ddasaccident415, Hd-Aid Aug 2004

Ddasaccident415, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Experienced deminer uses his rake slowly and in a correct manner according to SOP. Suddenly he sets off an antipersonnel mine with his heavy rake. Heavy rake breaks into two pieces in the blast. Deminer remains in perfect health and doesn’t have bruises nor other minor injuries.


Ddasaccident534, Hd-Aid Aug 2004

Ddasaccident534, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The incident occurred whilst Deminer [the Victim] was carrying out clearance using the raking method in Lane 9, MF 14, Bisqua. The Investigation team came to the conclusion that the AP mine was disturbed previously by the roots of a tree which is situated approximately 1 meter away from the point of detonation.


Ddasaccident414, Hd-Aid Aug 2004

Ddasaccident414, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Experienced deminer sets up an antipersonnel mine with his heavy rake. There are two one inch thick bush roots lying horizontally in depth of four centimetres, twenty five centimetres from each other. Antipersonnel mine was situated between the roots. Instead of prodding the spot between the roots, deminer continued raking with heavy rake.


Ddasaccident532, Hd-Aid Aug 2004

Ddasaccident532, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 15th of August 2004 an accident occurred in MF011 in Guuxaa during clearance. [The Victim] was carrying out clearance using the rake method when he detonated a P-4 Anti Personnel Mine.


Ddasaccident431, Hd-Aid Aug 2004

Ddasaccident431, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The incident is classed as a “Excavation incident” because the victim had hand and leg injury and a photograph shows an accident site that implies the victim was reaching down into a cavity, perhaps with one leg inside the cavity when the fuze was initiated by his activity. The report states that he “hit the detonator” but does not explain what with, so a hand-tool is presumed.


Ddasaccident457, Hd-Aid Aug 2004

Ddasaccident457, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

[The Victim] started the work in lane 1. He worked near a metal barrel half buried in the ground, 1.6 metres from the fence. Before the accident he cleared 2 m2. He wore his PPE and had the necessary tools. He had been removing the undergrowth and surface metal pieces ahead of the base stick. He had been searching with his metal detector and had used the prodder and a trowel. When he worked only with a prodder, he investigated the whole area ahead of the base stick where the vegetation had been removed. Just before the explosion he had …


Ddasaccident536, Hd-Aid Jul 2004

Ddasaccident536, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Antipersonnel Mine model P4 mark 1 exploded during mine-clearance in minefield LK-257, Katkovalam. Explosion took place 1,5 meters in front of [Demining group] deminer while he was raking the uncleared lane with heavy rake. Deminer fell backwards to his bottom and lost his hearing and vision for few minutes. His visor (head protection) was hit by little stones and fell off. Fragmentation vest (body protection) took some punches too. After 15 minutes he recovered to mentally and physically normal state. He did not have any wounds, bruises nor pain anywhere in medic’s full body inspection. Nevertheless, he was evacuated against …


Ddasaccident417, Hd-Aid Jul 2004

Ddasaccident417, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The BOI could not establish conclusively why the accident took place, as no eyewitnesses saw the incident at the time of the explosion. However, it was obvious that the deminer had his visor up at the time of the explosion. Damage and blast marks to the inside of the visor could only have accrued if the visor was up at the time of the explosion. The deminer insisted that the visor was down at the time of the explosion but could give no explanation for why the accident had taken place. It is the opinion of the BOI that the …


Ddasaccident442, Hd-Aid Jul 2004

Ddasaccident442, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The lane followed a P4 AP blast mine strip where [the Victim] had found three mines the previous day. On the morning of the accident [the Victim] had worked one half hour shift from 07.30 hrs to 08.00hrs before having breakfast from 08.00 hrs to 08.30 hrs. [The Victim] then started his second half hour shift at 08.30hrs, with his half section BD3. The accident took place at 08.40hrs, ten minutes into [the Victim]’s second half hour shift. At the time of the accident [the Victim] was using a heavy rake on the first phase of the three phase raking …


Ddasaccident412, Hd-Aid Jun 2004

Ddasaccident412, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The deminer was working in his clearance lane using a heavy rake to excavate the ground. The ground was very hard and use of the light rake was limited. At approximately 08:55hrs an explosion occurred under the rake.”


Ddasaccident545, Hd-Aid May 2004

Ddasaccident545, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On May 19, 2004 all deminers were called back to restart clearance operations on the minefield 603 in Darlaman after the first 10 minutes break. [The Victim] also went to his lane and started operations. Using the mine detector he found a signal and marked the area by a red marker. He was setting in kneeling position in an up hill and sloppy [sloping] portion of the field and while he had his personal protective suit and visor on started to prod the area using a bayonet and during the prodding he touched the mine and it went off.


Ddasaccident530, Hd-Aid Mar 2004

Ddasaccident530, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Details of this accident have been withheld by the demining NGO that employed the Victim. A spreadsheet including the Victim’s name and very brief details of the accident was made available in 2007. Some detail can be inferred from the information made available. For example, the fact that six people were injured during excavation of a small AP blast mine implies that safety distances were being ignored and field discipline was low. The main Victim also suffered head injuries that indicate that his head protection and visor were not being worn.


Ddasaccident411, Hd-Aid Feb 2004

Ddasaccident411, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The deminer was working in his clearance lane using a heavy rake to excavate the ground. The ground was very hard and use of the light rake was limited. At approximately 0710hrs an explosion occurred under the rake. The deminer was not wearing his visor correctly and as a result incurred facial injuries as outlined below.