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

Ddasaccident022, Hd-Aid Oct 1998

Ddasaccident022, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident occurred during the manual clearance phase. Victim No.1 was clearing a lane and pulled a trip wire with his detector head, so initiating an OZM-4. The detonation "blew off both upper and lower limbs" and he suffered fragment wounds to his head and chest, killing him instantly. Victim No.2 was hit in the shoulder by a fragment.


Ddasaccident162, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident162, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim stated that he was prodding to a depth of about 8cm and did not feel the mine before it exploded. He said that normally when the ground was very wet they stopped operations because it was not comfortable to lie down. He maintained that he had been lying on his plastic sheet but was still getting wet and the ground conditions were not safe to work in.


Ddasaccident004, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident004, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 09.15 three deminers were injured when a mine detonated while being handled outside the mined area. Victim No.1 suffered severe hand and minor foot injuries. Victim No.2 suffered minor body and eye injures, and a hearing loss. Victim No.3 suffered a minor facial injury. The injured were taken by road (the report says that it would have taken too long to get official clearance for air evacuation) to Maputo Central hospital by 10:15. Victim No.1 was flown to Zimbabwe at an unspecified time for “follow-up treatment”.


Ddasaccident047, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident047, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Technical Advisor heard the explosion and drove towards it. He saw the Survey Officer come out of the bush with the victim over on his shoulders. The victim had lost his left foot. The Technical Advisor administered first aid while the Survey Officer tried to make radio contact with the group's Kuito office. He did not succeed so used a Motorola Handheld radio to speak to another NGO's demining operation in Cunhinga. The team then drove towards Cunhinga and were met by a vehicle from the other group carrying their paramedic. Together with the paramedic the team drove to …


Ddasaccident249, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident249, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that he detected a reading and put his helmet on to prod. He could find nothing but the detector still signalled so he prodded again and found a fragment. The detector still signalled and he was prodding for the third time when the mine detonated at 08:15. He received "minor injuries", his visor was damaged and his bayonet lost. The victim walked unaided to the safe area.


Ddasaccident048, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident048, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 11:25 The victim initiated a PPM-2 mine and was blown backwards onto his detector. At 11:26 the victim was given first aid and was conscious. He had suffered "facial injury and lacerations to right hand". One minute later he was moved to the administration area where he was treated for "injuries to right hand, right knee" and his face was bandaged. The victim was evacuated by Land Rover at 11:40 and arrived at Huambo Hospital at 12:30. On arrival the escort was presented with a list of medical supplies to buy.


Ddasaccident017, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident017, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At the time of the accident the victim had just changed roles with his partner so it is not sure which of them failed to locate the mine. He was about 15 metres from the pylon when at 11:57 there was a detonation. The victim's leg was torn off at "boot level". After the accident and a positive identification of the victim, the medic gave first aid. At 12:11 the victim was taken to Maputo Central Hospital, arriving at 13:30.


Ddasaccident163, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident163, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Signed by an expatriate specialist and dated 5th September 1998, the report stated that demining had started at the site on 10th June 1998 and fourteen Type 69s and two PMNs had been recovered. The victim had worked for 40 minutes on the morning of the accident and in that time had cleared 4m and located and excavated four metal fragments. He was prodding to investigate another signal from his "Ebinger 420H" when at 07:50 he detonated a PMN.


Ddasaccident247, Hd-Aid Sep 1998

Ddasaccident247, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators reported that the victim was working normally and looking for tripwires. He found a tripwire and wanted to find whether it was connected to a mine "so he pulled it with his hand and the mine went off". He received injuries to his right armpit, both thighs and suffered hearing loss in his left ear.


Ddasaccident211, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident211, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The accident report did not give details of what happened in the incident, but from other documents (including the statement of the victim's partner who was not available to be interviewed by the investigators during their site visit) it seems that the deminers started work at 06:10 and at 06:40 the victim took over clearance. The exchange of duty took place close to the accident site, possibly because the marking system was inadequate and the victim's partner had to explain where he had finished work. The metal contamination along the verge caused by litter was such that the deminers found …


Ddasaccident246, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident246, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators decided that the victim was exposing a detector reading and found several tin-cans. He continued prodding but became tired so changed hands and prodded with his left hand. A mine detonated at 10:00. The victim suffered minor right-hand injury and dust in his eyes. He was treated on site and taken to the ICRC hospital in Kandahar.


Ddasaccident245, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident245, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the day of the accident the victim was working in a bushy area when at 09:00 he pulled a bush out of the way. In doing so he pulled a tripwire and initiated a POMZ. He suffered hand and chest injuries, and hearing loss. The victim was treated at the site, then taken to the ICRC hospital in Ghazni for treatment.


Ddasaccident244, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident244, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators found that the victim was investigating a detector reading in a squatting position and using a pick. He had used two markers. He "finished one layer" [presumably slicing layers from the ground] and rechecked with the detector. The reading was still there so he started excavating again without placing any markers. He hit a mine at 07:45.


Ddasaccident243, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident243, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that at around 11:00 the Section Leader instructed the deminers to pack up and rest until the end of the day. While they were resting Victim No.1 went into the uncleared area for no known reason. When he was 15m into the mined area he noticed a tripwire and "started wrapping it into the stick of a POMZ". A POMZ detonated at 11:30.


Ddasaccident051, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident051, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 07:30, [or 08:15 elsewhere] having only cleared a meter, the victim noticed that the marking stakes ahead of him were out of alignment so went into the adjoining exploratory lane to reposition them. He pushed a stake onto a mine that was on the border of the lane. He suffered light injuries on both arms. A quantity of earth was thrown up into his eyes, the skin of his face was lacerated and his right hand became inflamed. He was not wearing a visor. No one else was injured.


Ddasaccident242, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident242, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators decided that the victim was working with a detector beside a stream when he got a signal. He marked it with two marks, one at the centre and one 15cm behind it, then he squatted to prod with his bayonet. He detonated a mine and received injuries to his face and chest.


Ddasaccident241, Hd-Aid Aug 1998

Ddasaccident241, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators decided that the victim was working with a detector when he got a signal from a fragment that was visible, half buried. He squatted to remove it with his bayonet but as he did so initiated a mine that was under the fragment. His visor "was not properly down" and he failed to centre the reading point and approach it at the angle dictated by the SOPs. The victim suffered injuries to his hands and his face, the latter including a lacerated lip and damaged teeth. The victim walked to the safe area.


Ddasaccident239, Hd-Aid Jul 1998

Ddasaccident239, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the ditch had contained many mines thought to have been brought into it by heavy rains in the past. The victim found a detector reading. He put on his helmet and started to prod in a squatting position. He detonated the mine with his bayonet at 09:15 (started work at 06:00).


Ddasaccident050, Hd-Aid Jul 1998

Ddasaccident050, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim said that he had cleared a 30cm section ahead of him and then moved the end-of-lane marker. He suddenly felt dizzy and accidentally put his hand into an uncleared area. The next thing he knew he was being attended by paramedics in the rest area. The victim also mentioned he had seen the tripwire "and had been picking up the pieces left" from former clearance. [An accompanying sketch map showed that another mine had been removed close to the accident site. It is possible that the victim notified his superiors of a tripwire and was told that it …


Ddasaccident115, Hd-Aid Jul 1998

Ddasaccident115, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A preliminary accident report from the demining group simply recorded that "while prodding he was injured due to a PMN mine explosion". The victim suffered an amputated thumb with other severe hand injuries, also minor arm, legs, chest, and face injuries.


Ddasaccident215, Hd-Aid Jun 1998

Ddasaccident215, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim's partner found two PMA-3 mines and the Team Leader disarmed them and put them in a "mine storage area". The victim took over demining and after 4 minutes detonated a mine. He was squatting or kneeling and prodding at the time. He remained conscious but he had suffered damage to his eyes "due mostly to dirt coming up under his visor". He was evacuated to hospital "immediately", arriving after 18 minutes.


Ddasaccident119, Hd-Aid Jun 1998

Ddasaccident119, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The deminer and his partner were unable to use detectors (because they were "reading continuously" and so were prodding and excavating the area. Photographs of the area showed flat, dry, agricultural land. The victim located a PMN and reported it to his Section Leader" who told him to prepare a charge for its destruction. He lit the safety fuse and "rushed towards the safe area". As he did so he stepped into an uncleared area. A mine detonated and "the victim lost his right foot and got serious injuries to his left foot" at 11:10.


Ddasaccident238, Hd-Aid Jun 1998

Ddasaccident238, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Victim No.1 found two PMN-2 mines while excavating and they were destroyed. At about 08:45 he paused to remove loose soil and removed his helmet and visor. He used a shovel to remove the loose soil and detonated a mine. As a "result he got serious injuries on his both eyes, face". His Section Leader was not maintaining the correct safety distance (4m away) and was also injured.


Ddasaccident118, Hd-Aid Jun 1998

Ddasaccident118, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was working normally and got a reading from his detector which the investigators believe must have been from a fragment beyond the mine (they considered the mine undetectable with a Schiebel AN/19 detector). He marked the reading and while prodding towards it detonated the mine at 08:15. The victim received "superficial injuries on his right hand, forearm, fingers and neck".


Ddasaccident122, Hd-Aid May 1998

Ddasaccident122, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

No independent accident report was available in July 1998. A preliminary accident report from the demining group recorded that a deminer had an injury while prodding. No other details were made available.


Ddasaccident123, Hd-Aid May 1998

Ddasaccident123, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was working normally and registered a detector reading, so marked the spot and began prodding towards it. Before he reached the marked point an undetected mine detonated at 11:15. They found that he was working in a squatting position without wearing his helmet. They also found that he "ignored" correct prodding procedure and so applied pressure directly onto the pressure plate of the mine.


Ddasaccident124, Hd-Aid May 1998

Ddasaccident124, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim was going to inspect the work of a breaching party when at 09:30 he stepped on a mine that the deminers had missed during clearance.


Ddasaccident018, Hd-Aid May 1998

Ddasaccident018, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

It was while excavating with a "demining trowel" [see Analysis] at 08:30 that he detonated an anti-personnel mine, leaving him with "slight" injuries to his left hand and right thigh (it is presumed that the latter was caused by the handle of the "trowel"). The victim was blown onto his back and the trowel was found much further away. The victim was approximately 0.8m from the mine, and the crater was taken to indicate that it was buried to a depth of about 20cm.


Ddasaccident216, Hd-Aid Apr 1998

Ddasaccident216, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

This team was demining in an area of very difficult terrain. Dogs were the best solution to the problem at hand. Correct drills were being employed. Supervision and Quality Assurance measures were entirely sufficient. Evidence suggests that the dog sat on the mine, causing the mine to detonate. Three personnel were injured by one mine. Evacuation time was one hour and thirty-five minutes from the time of detonation to arrival at the hospital.


Ddasaccident217, Hd-Aid Apr 1998

Ddasaccident217, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A Team Leader partially detonated a PMA-2 mine whilst deploying his team to their tasks. [Demining group] state that this mine was a re-laid mine. There is an equal amount of evidence to show that it could have been a mine that was missed on the original clearance of the lane.