Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 361 - 390 of 634

Full-Text Articles in Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Ddasaccident435, Hd-Aid May 2000

Ddasaccident435, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

In this case the victims were working as “deminers” at a site defined as “N298 - Demining; between road D-1 & r.b. of Korana riv. K: 0 I: 3” when they “Stepped on a mine PROM, MF#1252”. One suffered “heavy body injuries”, the other two suffered “Light body injuries”.


Ddasaccident298, Hd-Aid May 2000

Ddasaccident298, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At the time of the accident [the] deminer had identified a reading within a row of mines in the Cordon Sanitaire Minefield. Ground conditions were favourable with relatively level ground and not very hard but with small loose stones. The deminer was wearing full PPE including gloves in both hands for arm protection. After identifying a reading, the deminer pinpointed and started excavating. From his own statement, he had already located the mine and was further exposing it when it went off. He further states that a rock rolled back into the hole he was excavating and landed on a …


Ddasaccident307, Hd-Aid May 2000

Ddasaccident307, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Because the area had been “verified”, and was therefore considered by all to be “safe”, the casualty walked straight out from the perimeter towards the indication box he was going to clear. Approximately 3.5 metres from his assigned work area he stepped on a V-69 bounding fragmentation mine.


Ddasaccident266, Hd-Aid Apr 2000

Ddasaccident266, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Anxious to speed up progress, the victim decided to carry out a "reconnaissance". He checked a detector by passing it over his boot and in the air, then started to clear his way into the uncleared area ahead of the safe lane. He proceeded by checking a small area for each foot and stepping onto it if the detector did not signal. Having gone five metres in one direction, he could see that what he had thought was his target was not, and so turned the other way. His route traced a semi-circle. When he had passed in front of …


Ddasaccident337, Hd-Aid Apr 2000

Ddasaccident337, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The demining team had been working at the site since February. The Victim was working in a breaching lane and set off a PMN mine.


Ddasaccident276, Hd-Aid Apr 2000

Ddasaccident276, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The report stated that at “12:50 on 15 April 2000, [the victim] detonated a mine whilst conducting clearance in the Cordon Sanitaire Minefield”. When the casualty was recovered from the minefield and tended by the paramedic, it was found that he was conscious and had sustained only minor injuries.” The victim arrived at the site medical unit at 13:05 and the field doctor arrived “immediately afterwards”. The victim sustained superficial burns to his left “arm and forearm. A minor contusion also developed on his left wrist.” [Apparently, he was not taken to a hospital.]


Ddasaccident265, Hd-Aid Apr 2000

Ddasaccident265, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

When they moved to the second site, they sent for a local villager to show them where the mines were. The villager led them along a trail where they found parts of tripwire and PMA-3 but could not locate the "minefield pattern". The victim and his partner went off the trail and found evidence of a PMA-2 detonation, then an intact PMR-2A and two PMA-3 mines.


Ddasaccident318, Hd-Aid Apr 2000

Ddasaccident318, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred while carrying out a Survey Level 2 at Save minefield and the first deminer was tasked to make a cut into the minefield to a visible anti-group mine. He removed a piece of metal, then checked again with his detector. Having got another reading, (heard by his Section Commander who was 10m away) he started to excavate with his “shovel”. He hit another PMN which detonated.


Ddasaccident345, Hd-Aid Mar 2000

Ddasaccident345, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Both of the handlers were going over the area they were supposed to check with their EDDs, since it was one of the rare 'soil covered' areas within the cleared part of the site. The Victim] was following the first dog handler and activated the mine by pressure.


Ddasaccident270, Hd-Aid Mar 2000

Ddasaccident270, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim initiated a mine at 13:10 while he was prodding to investigate a detector reading. His visor and apron "absorbed the blast", with the visor being torn off and landing in an uncleared area 8m away. The prodder had not been found at the time the report was written [it was found and photographed later].


Ddasaccident346, Hd-Aid Mar 2000

Ddasaccident346, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

13:00 Start of work in the minefield. Team leader issued a task for marking the borders between the cleared and suspect areas with a mine tape. A minute before the explosion did happen he spoke to the injured deminer, tasking him with a particular piece of border to mark. The moment he went up to the top of the riverbank explosion happened.


Ddasaccident434, Hd-Aid Feb 2000

Ddasaccident434, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

In this case the victims were working with the “special police force” engaged in demining when they initiated a PROM-1. One suffered “heavy body injuries… while mine clearing” and the other was killed.


Ddasaccident275, Hd-Aid Feb 2000

Ddasaccident275, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was continuing the breach begun by the earlier victim. He worked a further ten metres and checked the lane with his detector as he walked back towards the safe area. As he passed the site of the earlier accident, he got a slight detector reading and began to investigate with his prod. The mine detonated.


Ddasaccident296, Hd-Aid Feb 2000

Ddasaccident296, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Wearing his visor and armour apron, the victim swept the ground with his detector and noticed no signal. He then got up to cut vegetation and, at 0825 hours, detonated an R2M2 mine by stepping on it. “He sustained traumatic high velocity blast amputation of the right foot with sparing of the ipsilateral ankle joint. He also sustained first degree burns to the right arm”. The site supervisor corrected this to “part of” his right foot being amputated.


Ddasaccident335, Hd-Aid Jan 2000

Ddasaccident335, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred on land described as “agricultural, soft ground”. The demining group was engaged in Surveys (Levels 1 and 2). He found mines one on each side of the boundary lane and showed these to the supervisor. He was told to move the markers indicating the safe lane. As he turned, he stepped on a missed mine that was between the other two.


Ddasaccident315, Hd-Aid Dec 1999

Ddasaccident315, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred at 10:45 on December 24th 1999 during the manual demining of power lines between Maputo and Komatiport at the 88th tower about 8km from Moamba Town. The deminer was injured in an area considered to be densely mined during an attempt to enlarge the cleared area from 20 square metres to 40 square metres. While trying to cut some shrubs he made a "false move" and activated a mine outside his lane with his left foot. The mine was outside the "ring" and below a tree.


Ddasaccident263, Hd-Aid Nov 1999

Ddasaccident263, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

As the Team Leader was looking for any signs of the benchmark or any other marking from the site, he used a track well used by the locals. This track had hazard warning tape leading down (red and white chevron tape), either side of it forming a corridor. There were no mine signs or any other signs of restricting access and the track was marked in a way that it should be safe to use. The Victim was tasked to park 15 metres down the track and the Team Leader and the Victim alighted from the vehicle. The Team Leader …


Ddasaccident317, Hd-Aid Nov 1999

Ddasaccident317, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident took place in a mined area 30k North West of Beira along the Beira-Mwanza road. The victim was told by the Deputy Platoon Commander to take a hoe and a garden spade to the place marked with four red sticks and dig it out to find the metal that was making the detector signal. The victim started to dig at the place. He was not wearing protective equipment. After digging for ten minutes, at 06:20 the hoe he was using detonated a Type-72a mine [both 72a and 72b are mentioned in the varied papers].


Ddasaccident316, Hd-Aid Nov 1999

Ddasaccident316, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred in a defensive ring of mines laid during 1987. The ring formed part of the protection to Marrumbene Villa. The victim’s partner had marked a signal from his metal detector. The victim went forward and started to probe the ground. The mine was at an angle in the ground. At 11:45 he probed onto and detonated a mine.


Ddasaccident254, Hd-Aid Nov 1999

Ddasaccident254, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was working in an area of low brush adjacent to a (then) disused farm vehicle track. He was clearing a working lane along a line of PMA-2 mines and his team had found two that morning (one found by the victim). At 11:30 he initiated a PMA-2 by stepping on the mine with his right foot.


Ddasaccident262, Hd-Aid Oct 1999

Ddasaccident262, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

After lunch four of the deminers were tasked to build a bridge over a creek to allow better access to the area being cleared. The remaining deminer and the supervisor cleared a one metre wide lane in order to examine a tripwire that had been spotted outside the working area. When they got close to the tripwire the supervisor took over clearance and worked for 20 minutes. Then he "stood up, turned around and requested two more small pickets to mark his lane". While doing this he "lost his footing" and took a step backwards over his base stick with …


Ddasaccident305, Hd-Aid Oct 1999

Ddasaccident305, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred in a minefield called Palkie that was laid in 1970s. The contamination was such that a metal detector could not be used in some places and a “clearance by excavation” method was used. In one place where a shell had dropped, the victim was excavating using a Russian bayonet when he initiated a mine.


Ddasaccident255, Hd-Aid Sep 1999

Ddasaccident255, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim, was clearing a lane past the remains of a dead cow and was already a metre past the cow when the accident occurred. While the victim was sweeping with the mine detector he received a signal on the right 10-cm overlap of the lane he was busy clearing. The ground at the accident site sloped slightly to the right of the lane. The victim started to prod in the area of the signal by using the prodder. When he was prodding on the right of his base stick, he activated an explosive device. This occurred at approximately 13:00.


Ddasaccident357, Hd-Aid Aug 1999

Ddasaccident357, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident had taken place at 1245hrs; the injured deminer arrived at Emergency hospital in Sulymania at 1400hrs and was admitted. The prodder which he had been using was badly damaged and had taken on the shape of a half moon. This indicated that the point of the prodder had detonated the mine.


Ddasaccident256, Hd-Aid Aug 1999

Ddasaccident256, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was engaged in widening a breaching lane at 13:40 when the accident occurred. He was not using approved marking methods [using none] and the accident occurred 3 metres in front of his base stick. His equipment had been removed from the site but witnesses confirmed that the victim's visor and prodder were some metres behind the victim [visor not worn] and that the handle of his trowel was a metre from the accident site


Ddasaccident260, Hd-Aid Aug 1999

Ddasaccident260, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was cutting an exploratory lane "to identify the direction of the Plough share mines". This appears to have been done by identifying a picket (post on which the plough share mines were originally placed) and working towards the next. The victim missed the next picket and returned to a place 30 metres from the last picket. "This is the normal drill to be used when row direction is lost". The victim did not use the correct marking and clearance procedures. He was investigating a detector reading at 08:15 when the accident occurred.


Ddasaccident347, Hd-Aid Aug 1999

Ddasaccident347, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Deminer worked in a minefield with a metal detector on a metal contaminated ground. While lifting the detector’s head from the surface towards the turf, the detector must have been slanted so it could have easily activated the PROM’s detonator if it was to be at the edge of the turf.


Ddasaccident352, Hd-Aid Aug 1999

Ddasaccident352, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

This accident occurred because the deminer activated a PROM mine, it is not possible to prove how the fuse was activated. In view of the fact that the deminers on the site were consistently exceeding established productivity rates by an excessively large amount, it is the view of the Board that the excessive operating speed was the major contributing factor.


Ddasaccident582, Hd-Aid Aug 1999

Ddasaccident582, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A deminer detonated a mine while about to undertake prodding/excavation of a metal-detector indication. It is thought that the light plastic cross used as a marker for the metal-detector indication got moved by the wind and he knelt directly onto the mine.


Ddasaccident351, Hd-Aid Jul 1999

Ddasaccident351, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A failure to find the PROM-1 mine before the break proved fatal for both deminers, as the new No 1, who had been No 2 prior to the break, more than likely stepped on the mine unknowingly, in the presumed ‘cleared’ area, while both deminers were probably about to don their PPE before start of work.