Public Policy Commons^™

Ddasaccident521, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

This accident is classed as a “Missed-mine accident” because the mine was presumably either missed during survey or during clearance. It is presumed that demining group included it in their spreadsheet of demining accidents because the area should have been cleared.

Ddasaccident409, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 6th of April 2004 at 1252 hours the WMF Wolf MPV, assisting in route clearance operations on the road from Chiede to Malungo wa Shikongo, set off an anti tank mine. The location of the accident was 34 kms south east of Chiede. The Wolf was supporting [Demining group]'s armoured grader while route-clearance was in progress towards Malungo wa Shikongo.

Ddasaccident418, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A bulldozer and crew contracted by the GA and managed by the AGA was working in Malvil on the day of the incident. [Victim No.1], Bulldozer driver, [Victim No.2], Driver’s Assistant and [Victim No.3], AGA appointed foreman were tasked with levelling the SLA bunds and clearing excess vegetation around the village. Immediately prior to the incident the bulldozer was on the dirt road running through the village and attempting to turn around. As the bulldozer moved off the road in its attempt to turn, an explosion occurred under the right hand track, tipping the bulldozer over and throwing the three …

Ddasaccident441, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Narrative: During the removal of rubble, sand and rubbish in a holding area inside a building (area has been cleared with metal detector and excavation drills in April 2003 by [the same demining group]), the deminer was walking backwards and reaching the rear wall to fill his shovel again, as an uncontrolled detonation occurred. The detonation caused the traumatic amputation of his left foot.

Ddasaccident427, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

According to the deminer statement He has cleared the line about 1 m to 1,5 meter and made search for signal in one location he got more signals and have made a deep hole to try to located the signals when he was satisfy with the investigation of the hole he has moved his base stick and got up from his knee position to take the gardening shear in order to cut side vegetation at that time his left leg twisted skid towards in the previous excavation hole . Immediately he heard some noise and sand and dust all over …

Ddasaccident514, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

This incident is classed as a “Missed-mine accident” because it seems that the device that detonated was inside the area cleared. If it was not, then this would become yet another “Survey accident” (the demining group had several in Iraq at this time). The primary cause of this accident is listed as a “Field control inadequacy” because the victims went to place markers in an area that was believed to be safe but which was not. Those responsible for the work should have kept an accurate record of the safe area. It seems that the field controllers may also have …

Ddasaccident389, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

[The Victim] then excavated around the front and right hand side of the rock using his right hand, nothing being located. As it would have been difficult to excavate around the left hand side of the rock using his right hand. Deminer [second inconsistent name] had moved his legs 15 cms in depth when there was an uncontrolled detonation, after he stepped on the mine.

Ddasaccident406, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At some time between 05:50 and 05:55 whilst travelling south, the rear right wheel of the 110 detonated an AT mine. The vehicle was thrown forward and through an arc of 180° coming to rest facing approximately north 5 metres from the point of impact. The driver [Victim no.1] exited the vehicle by the drivers side door. [Victim no.2] exited through the windscreen area (the entire window and rubber surround having been blown out).

Ddasaccident586, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The incident occurred after the rear right wheel of the [Demining group] Land Rover 110 travelled over the top of an anti-tank mine, possibly a Belgian PRB-M3 minimum metal anti-tank mine buried at depth of less than 10cm, causing it to detonate. The mine had been missed by two mine detection dogs who had previously searched the lane in both directions.

Ddasaccident399, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At 12:25 the whistle for changeover was blown and the teams started the change over. This was also the change over for the last shift for the day as the demining operation stops at 13:00. During this change over [Deminer No.2] finished his duties for the day and [the Victim] was to work the last shift of twenty-five minutes. The change over took place and according to [Deminer No.2] all the equipment and PPE were handed over and a short briefing was done. He said that he left the working area. Before the second whistle was blown, that was suppose …

Ddasaccident392, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Team Leader started to walk out to the rest area and [the victim] started to mark the cleared area by knocking in red pickets. After approx 12 m, (when Team Leader was facing the access lane in a Northern direction), an uncontrolled detonation occurred.

Ddasaccident395, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the 26th September 2002 at approximately 1430 hrs whilst [Name excised, the Victim], was ploughing a field in Raab ett Talatine, a detonation occurred under the left hand back wheel of his tractor.

Ddasaccident376, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

have affected this area to a large scale, as it was frontline between Taliban and Northern Alliance during the past few years. The survey operation is also in progress in the neighbouring remaining areas to be technically marked and mapped for clearance teams. On 1st September 2002 an accident occurred in the survey team that involved a surveyor. The operations of team No.3 was stopped, all deminers were ordered to get to the rest area and be prepared to assist [NGO-1] in their rescue operation.

The dead body of the surveyor was thrown into the minefield so two deminers cleared …

Ddasaccident456, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The demining pair were clearing a lane as a team with one doing the detection and the other clearing the vegetation. The pair had just changed around after detection. The victim moved to the top of the clearance lane to re-position the red string lines and begin clearing vegetation and spoil from the next part of the lane prior to detection. As the victim bent down to position the stakes with the red string attached, he stood on a mine with his left foot on the cleared left hand side of the lane. When the mine exploded, the victim’s partner …

Ddasaccident407, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Section Leader was kneeling, or squatting, over the mine. When it exploded, his body took the full impact of the blast from a very close proximity. This is substantiated by the extensive blast damage to his remains and extensive burning of the remains from the blast. The Section Leader’s remains were propelled 24 metres from the seat of the explosion, to his left rear into the minefield, to land just outside the left hand edge of this

Ddasaccident420, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

It had been raining a lot one day before, then the ground became less hard and slippery. The truck drove on the usual track that both vehicles used to pass without any problem but due to the slippery ground conditions, the land cruiser escaped from the usual track and it activated a MAI-75 AP mine with its right rear wheel which caused an immediate explosion. This happened inside the cleared area, approximately 287 metres from the beginning of the road (at that time, 4700 metres had already been cleared).

Ddasaccident366, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the morning of the accident at approximately 10:15hrs the [Victim] was walking down the track and stepped on a large rock. This rock that was laid over the PMA3 blast mine moved and in so doing detonated the mine.

Ddasaccident364, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The soil was rocky, highly metallic and with dense vegetation, but still he carried on working only with the detector. After he finished that lane he returned to the second lane, which he had cleared that same morning. He was walked to the East in order to cut the vegetation of the third lane from another angle when his left foot stepped on a mine and detonated it. This was a PMN mine.

Ddasaccident373, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

At approximately 1320hrs on the day of the accident, the team leader of 13M [the Victim] was called forward by one of his deminers [name excised] to remove a PMA3 blast mine that he had located approximately 10cm beyond his base stick. [The Victim[ instructed the deminer to return to the rest area and wait until he had completed removing the mine. As [the Victim] got into the prone position to remove the mine he knelt on another PMA3 mine that was in the cleared lane.

Ddasaccident353, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

07:00 Casualty arrived in cleaning area at the minefield tasks site and began to prepare the machine for operations. [Ex pat No.1] took over responsibility for the demining operations from [Ex-pat No.2] in the neighbouring minefield. 07:15 Flailing operations began. 07:35 Detonation occurred.

Ddasaccident405, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The work-site leader, [the Victim], came to deminer [Deminer 1] at 9:20 to measure and record the positions of the mines he had found. During that process he noticed a PMA-2 in the waste [on the ground?] next to his left foot. During the exit of deminers from the lane and due to his own movements he activated [another] PMA-2, from which explosion he suffered heavy injuries (with the consequent amputation of his left foot).

Ddasaccident402, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the morning of the accident a pile of mines were discovered at the base of a large tree approximately 7 metres before the seat of the explosion, this pile consisted of 8 x PMR2A, 1 x PMA1 and 1 x PMA2. [The Victim] had disarmed these mines and they were removed. The clearance lane then continued. In this lane there is a large rock, and beside this rock a PMR2A was discovered as well as 3 x PMA2. These mines were all disarmed and removed. The deminer was continuing with the clearance of this lane when [the Victim] came …

Ddasaccident005, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The demining group were clearing an 80km stretch of road using mine-dog teams and manual demining methods. They began work in November 1999. Work was suspended during the period of National floods, then restarted. They had cleared “approximately 43km” at the time of the accident. During the clearance task the demining team had found “1 UXO, 377 SAA of AKM” and 1724 pieces of metal.

Ddasaccident323, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim insisted that he help the International Supervisor with carrying the sticks into the mine rows and assist him with the marking. They had been in the lane for less than 10 minutes conducting marking, when the victim with a club hammer in his hand was bending down to pick up a marking stick. It was at this time that he stepped on a PMA-3 blast mine in what he thought to be the 10cm safety overlap.

Ddasaccident326, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

There were no witnesses to the actual explosion, however [the Victim] was walking back to the end of his clearance lane when he stepped on the mine at the entrance to his lane. The mine (PMA-3) was at a depth of 24cm in soft ground and positioned on a rock.

Ddasaccident401, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

[The Albanian adolescent] was sitting at the track intersection when [Demining group Ops manager] met up with him. [The Albanian adolescent] offered to take [Demining group Ops manager] and show him the location of a mined area that he knew of. Whilst following the lad, [Demining group Ops manager] has stated that he had doubts of the area they were walking through. He told [the Albanian adolescent] was searching the ground, and it was then that [Demining group Ops manager] realised they were in a minefield. He told [the Albanian adolescent] to stop and that they would go back. Almost …

Ddasaccident324, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A demining section from demining platoon No 2 were working at the demining site at Kraljan. At approximately 1105 hrs there was an uncontrolled explosion after [the Victim] inadvertently stood on a PMA-3 anti-personnel mine, in an area that [another demining group’s] EDD assets had previously cleared in 2000.

Ddasaccident408, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A LAV III following the Nyala struck the mine with the right rear intermediate wheel. Force of explosion destroyed both intermediate tyres. Three pers were in the LAV III and no injuries were sustained.”

Ddasaccident403, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Deminer had searched the working lane with his metal detector, having clearly marked the reached right border of his working lane. However it is obvious that he did not mark the left border of his working lane, i.e. he did not follow the metal detector search progress. He most probably had in mind to additionally mark the reached or ‘searched’ area. After searching the mentioned area with the metal detector without any signal that would indicate the presence of metal, he went back to the beginning of his lane, left the detector there, took two pickets, hammer and the base …

Ddasaccident328, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Section Commander was not looking at the Supervisor at the time of the accident and couldn’t witness the accident. When he turned around, he saw that [the Victim] was in the uncleared area, between the two rows of mines. The Section Commander called for assistance. The mine involved in the accident was a blast anti-personnel mine type PMA-2.