Ridiculous Accidents

[TheQuixote]

Austrian motorist badly hurt after rolling over car while swatting at spider


KLAGENFURT, Austria (AP) - A driver who swatted at a spider inside his car hit an embankment Thursday and flipped the vehicle over, critically injuring himself, police said.

The victim was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in the southern province of Carinthia after firefighters cut him free from the wreckage, authorities said.

They said he told police he was trying to get a spider off his face when he lost control of the vehicle. The extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

link

 

[TheQuixote]

Man sues after being glued to toilet seat

Follow-up on that story:

Sticky toilet suit gets stickier

Keith Cabaniss stands next to a toilet at the Nederland visitors center, where former town official Ron Trzepacz says Bob Dougherty claimed to have been glued to a seat in 2004. Dougherty, who denies Trzepacz's account, has been in the national spotlight after suing Home Depot for $3 million over a similar claim. Cabaniss and Dougherty have clashed in the past over town business.

The Boulder County man who claims his rear end was glued to a toilet seat in a Louisville Home Depot in 2003 denied Tuesday that he made a similar report last year.
On Monday, a former Nederland official told the Rocky Mountain News that Bob Dougherty complained in the summer of 2004 that he had become glued to the toilet seat in the town's visitors center.

Ron Trzepacz, who was the town's director of operations, said he heard the complaint from Dougherty but nothing was put in writing and nothing ever came of it [...]

but there seems to have been a more recent copycat case:

Firefighters in Bakersfield, Calif., were called to a Home Depot Tuesday to help a man whose backside was glued to a toilet seat. Officials think the case is a copycat of a Nederland case in which Bob Dougherty says he became stuck to a toilet seat in a Home Depot in 2003.

The California man, who has not been identified, was rushed to the hospital, still attached to a the toilet seat, according to news reports. His condition was not known.

Dougherty, a 57-year-old engineer, is suing Home Depot for $3 million for an Oct. 30, 2003, incident in a Louisville store.

Dougherty said he rushed to the restroom that day and attempted to find a paper seat cover. When he couldn't, he used the bathroom anyway. Then, as he attempted to get up, Dougherty said he felt pain in his legs and buttocks. An ambulance was called nearly 25 minutes later, after Dougherty said employees ignored his calls for help. Paramedics had to unbolt the toilet seat and carry it to the stretched with Dougherty still attached.

Both articles from Rocky Mountain News

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Rather along similarish lines but they were too polite to say what exactly was frozen but its a big :shock: all round:

Dog Frozen to Railroad Tracks Is Rescued

Thursday, December 22, 2005


(12-22) 13:33 PST Chippewa Falls, WIS. (AP) --

Jeremy Majorowicz thought something was wrong when he saw a dog sitting on railroad tracks for at least two hours. But he didn't realize how wrong until he and several other men determined that the gray and white husky had been literally frozen to the ties in below zero weather.

The construction worker first saw the dog on the tracks before his crew called off work for the day Monday because of the cold, and headed to a restaurant. But the dog was still there when they returned 1 1/2 hours later.

"I like animals, and I didn't want to see it get hurt," Majorowicz said.

He approached the dog, and offered it a bit of a muffin, but the animal wouldn't bite.

"I have two dogs myself, so I didn't want to leave the dog if there was something wrong," Majorowicz said, so he called the police.

Police Officer Tim Strand said the dog was "shivering unmercifully" when he arrived and would not come to him, so he called animal control officer Al Heyde.

Heyde hooked the dog around the neck with a catch pole in an attempt to capture the dog, but it would not budge.

Strand then determined the dog was frozen to the railroad ties.

"I lifted his tail and hind quarters, and saw he was literally frozen to the tracks," Strand said. "He was pretty hunkered down."

Strand pulled hard on the dog's tail, and was able to release him, but he said the move pulled a lot of hair from the dog.

"He gave a heck of a whelp," the officer said.

A train was scheduled to pass across the tracks about 10 minutes after the rescue was completed.

"If the dog would have seen that train I'm afraid it would have been the end of the pupster," Strand said.

The dog was transported to the Chippewa County Humane Association, where it was wrapped in blankets and cuddled until it got warm.

___

Information from: The Chippewa Herald,

www.chippewa.com

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Search On For Injured Wood Cutter

Yerington
Koula Gianulias

Lyon County authorities were desperately looking for a woodcutter Thursday who reported possibly cutting hisleg off with a chain saw before the cell phone connection died.

The man called 911 at 11:56 a.m. and said he may have cut his
leg off and needed an ambulance, Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Page said.
"He said he was dizzy, there was lots of blood, and then the
phone went dead," said Page, who listened to the taped call
several times.

"He sounded pretty distressed; pretty shook up," he told The
Associated Press.

Dispatchers were unable to get the man's location before the
communication ended.

Search and rescue teams launched a countywide search and
sheriff's deputies started telephoning people who had been issued
wood cutting permits in the area based on a list provided by the
U.S. Forest Service, Page said.

Lyon County covers 2,200 square miles and stretches from east of
Reno south to the California line near Topaz Lake.

Looking for the man was "a proverbial needle in a haystack,"
Page said, given the expansive area involved.

The Fallon Naval Air Station provided two helicopters that
searched until dark Thursday in the Sweetwater and Pinenut
mountains while ground units searched Forest Service roads, he
said.

Nevada state park rangers also searched the Lahontan State Park
and surrounding area, but with no luck, he said.

Additional air searches planned from Reno, Washoe County and the
Army National Guard were put on hold due to cloudy, rainy weather.
The search was to continue until 9 p.m. Thursday. It was unclear
if the search would continue Friday, depending on the weather, Page
said late Thursday.

He asked that anyone who knows of someone who planned to go
woodcutting to contact authorities so officers can try to locate
them and check on their welfare. They are asked to telephone the
Lyon County Dispatch Center at 775-463-6620.

www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/2110162.html

 

[rynner2]

Jet tank fell 'inches' from man

A cyclist said he thought he was going to die after an auxiliary fuel tank from an RAF Harrier jet fell and missed him by inches in Devon on Friday.

A military investigation is now under way following the incident, which happened when the aircraft was on a routine training flight.

The empty, 10ft-long metal tank landed on a grass verge near the A3124 road at Winkleigh, police said.

The RAF Cottesmore aircraft made a safe emergency landing at RNAS Yeovilton.

Winkleigh resident Les Sprason said he escaped death by inches as the fuel tank spiralled over his head while he cycled along the country road.

"I thought, well I am going to die because it is going to explode, and this is me finished," he said.

"I was aware of a jet coming from my right-hand side at a very low altitude.

"I was aware something broke away from the aircraft and was spinning and somersaulting through the air," he said.

He said the tank then impacted in a field with a "dull thud".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4589508.stm

SHOCK AFTER FUEL TANK FALLS FROM MILITARY JET

JOHN KIRK

11:00 - 07 January 2006
Petrified residents last night spoke of their shock after an auxiliary fuel tank fell from a military aircraft and crashed near a Westcountry road.

A military investigation has been launched to determine why the 10ft-long metal tank plunged into a grass verge near the A3124 road at Winkleigh, North Devon.

The aircraft - a Harrier GR7 - was on a routine training flight from RAF Cottesmore near Peterborough when the incident happened around 10am yesterday.

After losing the tank the Harrier safely made an emergency landing at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset with its second auxiliary tank still attached. The Harrier was undamaged and no one was hurt.

It is not clear why the tank fell, although a Yeovilton spokesman said that it "came away" from the aircraft and had not been jettisoned.

Military vehicles and emergency crews cordoned off the road for several hours amid fears that the tank could explode, although it was later found to be empty.

Shocked residents spoke of their horror after witnessing the fuel tank fall from the plane.

Andrew McGinley, assistant manager at Winkleigh Timber, said he watched the fuel tank fall about 150 yards away from him as he sat on a forklift truck.

Mr McGinley, 38, told the WMN he saw the fuel tank spiral away from the plane "like a Catherine wheel".

"I thought it was like a dummy rocket - it came down as if it had been ripped off and was spinning around," he said.

"I was absolutely petrified because I didn't know what it was at first and it was coming down at some force.

"If it had hit somebody it would have been catastrophic."

Farmer Nicholas Turner, who lives just a quarter of a mile from the crash site, said it was a "miracle" the tank did not crash though the roof of his farmhouse.

Mr Turner, 38, said: "I heard a bump and went out so see what was going on and up the road I found a large tank next to the road.

"I couldn't believe it. A little bit the other way and it could have hit my house or even me."

Dave Tindall also had a near miss when the fuel tank flashed just yards past him as he was driving towards Winkleigh to work.

The 48-year-old fireplace fitter said: "The jet was flying so low - it seemed to be heading towards the Cornwall direction - but then it started to bank steeply.

"The next thing I know the fuel tank came flashing across the road about ten yards in front of me and buried itself in a hedge.

"I couldn't believe it. It was such a near miss. It would have been curtains if it had hit the van I was in."

The fuel tank also landed just 75 yards from beef farmer Anthony Parkhouse, 39, who said: "It landed with a hell of a crash then bounced back on to the road, nearly knocking a man off his pushbike.

"It was obviously a shock because you don't expect bits of jets to fall off. Had the pilot waited a second longer it would have gone smack into my barn."

Devon Fire and Rescue found the tank to be empty, but because of a fire danger from escaping vapour the road remained closed.

Police closed the A3124 for four hours while a Ministry of Defence team recovered the tank.

A spokesman for the MoD said it would be wrong to speculate about why the tank came away.

But he added: "The matter is being investigated. The investigation will need to be thorough."

WMN

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Man's hot love burns down home

From:
From correspondents in Hoenigsburg, Austria

January 23, 2006


SMITTEN lover Hannes Pisek planned a romantic surprise for his girlfriend.
Mr Pisek, 20, arranged 220 candles in the shape of a large heart on the floor of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Anna.

Satisfied with the design, he lit them and then went to pick her up from work.

Unfortunately, while he was fetching her, the flat burned down.

His girlfriend has gone to live with her parents, leaving Pisek to reflect on the ashes of a love that may have burned too bright.

www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17907428-13762,00.html

 

[rynner2]

Historic vases smashed in stumble

A stumbling visitor to a top museum has destroyed a set of priceless vases which stood on a shelf for 40 years.
The 300-year-old Qing vases were among the best known artefacts at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

The visitor is said to have slipped on a loose shoelace and fallen down a staircase bringing the vases crashing down as he tried to steady himself.

The vases, donated in 1948, were said to hold a "significant value" and were among the best known pieces on display.

The museum declined to identify the man who had tripped.

The accident happened last Wednesday and the museum said it was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident.

Margaret Greeves, the museum's assistant director, said: "They are in very, very small pieces, but we are determined to put them back together."

Visitor unharmed

A spokesman for the museum said: "An accident at lunchtime on Wednesday 25 January involving a member of the public resulted in damage to three oriental porcelain vases which had been displayed for many years on a staircase window sill.

"An ambulance was called but the visitor left the Museum on foot having been seen by paramedics and staff first-aiders.

"The damaged porcelain ornamental vases are Chinese, Qing Dynasty, reign of Kangxi (1662-1722), late 17th or early 18th century, painted in enamels in the famille verte palette with traces of gilding."

Duncan Robinson, director of the museum, said: "It was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the Museum unharmed.

"Conservators are evaluating the damage prior to repair work being considered. Whilst the method of displaying objects is always under review, it is important not to over-react and make the Museum's collections less accessible to the visiting public."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/camb ... 662424.stm

 

[Leaferne]

OK, hands up everyone who's thinking "That is exactly the sort of thing *I* would do."

*sheepishly raises hand*
*is relieved she didn't do it*

 

[Anonymous]

Urination meets defenestration. :shock:

Teen Using Restroom Falls Out Bus Window

Feb 07 9:56 PM US/Eastern
Email this story

ALBANY, N.Y.

A New York City teenager fell out the window of a moving bus while using the restroom Tuesday and landed on the New York State Thruway.

State police said Jose Gonzales, 17, lost his balance when the chartered bus swerved to change lanes. It was unclear how fast the bus was going.

Gonzales was taken to Albany Medical Center for treatment. Police said he'll recover.

Gonzales fell onto the shoulder of the thruway near Exit 23 southbound.

He had been at the Capitol on Tuesday to lobby with a group on the issue of AIDS.

I guess he's lucky to be alive.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/07/D8FKLRU00.html

 

[Peripart]

I get pissed off riding on buses as well.

 

[rynner2]

This might be one for the 'Dumbest Criminals' thread, but it'll do here for now:

ACCIDENT DRIVER FIGHTS FOR LIFE AFTER 60FT VIADUCT LEAP

11:00 - 11 February 2006
Police were last night trying to establish why a man who was involved in a road accident jumped over a viaduct wall, falling 60 feet. An ambulance is believed to have been in the area when the incident occurred early yesterday morning. Police said they did not know whether the driver saw the ambulance's blue flashing light heading towards him and panicked, thinking it was a police patrol.

He was in a silver Mercedes which veered out of control on the A361, which runs over the Ash Mill viaduct, near South Molton.

The car crashed into a safety barrier. Police said the driver then got out of his car and jumped over a roadside wall, apparently not realising it was the wall of the viaduct.

He suffered serious head and neck injuries - described by police as life-threatening - when he hit the ground, and was last night in intensive care at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where he had been airlifted by police helicopter after firefighters winched him up from underneath the viaduct.

The road accident happened around 12.50am and no other vehicles were involved.

Two fire engines, one from South Molton and one from Bideford, were called and it took their crews several hours to lift the man on to a stretcher and haul him back up to the road.

A female motorist travelling behind the Mercedes who saw the man jump called the emergency services, and police said she was still in shock later yesterday.

The A361, which links Barnstaple to the M5, was closed for several hours and diversions were set up at Bish Mill and Bolham.

WMN

 

[rynner2]

Narrowboat blocks major motorway

A major motorway was hit by an unusual traffic delay on Friday when a boat came off the back of a lorry.
The narrowboat slid off the lorry on the M1 in Leicestershire at junction 22 near Markfield.

It blocked the inside lane of the southbound carriageway for at least two hours before it was cleared away.

The green narrowboat, named the Kasbian, caused substantial tailbacks between junctions 21 and 22, photographer Stephen Marriott said.

Crews from Leicestershire Fire Service in Coalville and Loughborough helped to remove the boat from the motorway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leic ... 725524.stm

 

[rynner2]

POSTMAN GLAD TO BE BACK ON DRY LAND AFTER SINKING

11:00 - 08 April 2006
A postman had to be hauled to safety after he went off the straight, narrow and bumpy while delivering letters to the Westcountry's most famous island. His regular low tide delivery to St Michael's Mount in West Cornwall involves him driving several hundred yards out across a causeway from Marazion to the Mount.

When it is high tide he parks his van at Marazion and makes his return journey to the Mount by boat.

For a smoother and quicker journey at low tide, and avoiding day trippers walking on the stone causeway, some drivers opt to drive out across the hard sand.

Alas, the postman appeared unaware that a channel had recently been dug through the sand to assist the boatmen of The Mount to get in and out of their harbour.

To the amusement of onlookers, but the acute embarrassment of the postman, his van disappeared nose first into the channel.

Luckily the tide was going out at the time so there was plenty of time for a rescue operation to save the van.

While an SOS call was made for a Land Rover to come and pull out his vehicle and get him back on dry land, the postman busied himself by sorting the mail.

A St Michael's Mount spokesman said: "It happened at around noon on Monday.

"It was the second vehicle we've seen go into this channel in the space of a few days. The other person was someone who lives here. I cannot recall it happening before.

"They must have been unaware that the channel had been dug for the benefit of the local boatmen. The postman had no difficulties today. It was high tide. He came out to us on a boat."

http://tinyurl.com/fryq7

 

[gerardwilkie]

Old Keef is a hero of mine , and hope he gets better soon , but you've got to ask yourself...what was he doing up a coconut tree ?

Keith Richards 'tree fall' injury

Keith Richards has written some of the most famous guitar riffs in the world
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has been taken to hospital in New Zealand after injuring himself while on holiday in Fiji.
A band spokeswoman said Richards had suffered "mild concussion" and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Media reports in Australia and New Zealand said Richards had hurt his head when he fell from a coconut tree.

The legendary musician is mid-way through a world tour with the famous British band.

The band most recently played in New Zealand and start the European leg of their tour in Barcelona next month.

"Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife Patti for observation," the spokeswoman said.

New Zealand's Sunday Star Times reported that Richards was being treated in a hospital in Auckland and that he was conscious, mobile and had not undergone surgery.

The incident happened earlier this week but the 62-year-old rock star was taken to hospital on Saturday.

The spokeswoman said she did not know how the injury happened.

From the BBC Website

 

[gerardwilkie]

Check out this weird tale:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4953668.stm

Aussie chainsaw croc runs amok

Saltwater crocs are known to attack boats with outboard motors
A crocodile in northern Australia has chased a storm-clearance worker up a tree and made off with his chainsaw.
The 4.4m (14.5ft) saltwater crocodile called Brutus apparently took exception to the noise of the saw.

The worker was clearing a tree that fell on the crocodile enclosure at the Corroboree Park Tavern, 80km (50 miles) east of the northern city of Darwin.

Brutus chewed on the chainsaw for 90 minutes, reducing it to pieces. Neither man nor beast was injured.

Northern Australia has an estimated 100,000 saltwater crocodiles.

Et chew Brutus

Worker Freddy Buckland was cutting a tree that had fallen as a result of a recent tropical cyclone.

Peter Shappert, the tavern's owner, said the crocodile jumped from the water and sped 20ft to the tree.

"It must have been the noise... I don't think he was actually trying to grab Freddy, but I'm not sure. He had a fair go at him... I think he just grabbed the first thing he could and it happened to be the chainsaw," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Tavern co-owner Linda Francis said: "Fred virtually gave him the chainsaw, shoved it at him.

"It was still going and he took the chainsaw onto the ground and proceeded to smash it and it stalled. The crocodile didn't cut himself, just broke a few teeth."

Mr Shappert said the saw was destroyed.

"He chewed on the chainsaw for about an hour-and-a-half, then we finally got it out."

Saltwater crocodiles are known to attack small boats, apparently disturbed by the sound of outboard motors.

 

[rynner2]

Scores die in Nigeria fuel blast

More than 150 people have been killed in an explosion at a petrol pipeline near Nigeria's largest city, Lagos.
Police and Red Cross officials at the scene of the blast, on Atlas Creek Island, said many of the bodies had been burnt beyond recognition.

Reports suggest the blast may have been caused by an attempt to tap illegally into the high pressure pipeline.

Almost 2,000 people have died in a number of similar incidents in the country in recent years.

Government spokesman Chief Femi Fani Kayode told the BBC that, while he regretted the loss of life, the authorities had done all they could to make people aware of the dangers of this practice.

"If they decide to take that risk then they have to look at the attending consequences, and the blame for that cannot be put on the doorstep of anybody, least of all the government," he said.

Jerrycans

Eyewitnesses in Lagos said they had seen thick black smoke rising from a nearby area after the blast, which occurred early on Friday morning.


'Burnt to ash'
Blast recalls Nigeria's ills

The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says the blast incinerated all those within a 20m radius, but the exact number of casualties may not be known for some time.

Bodies were strewn over a beach near the site of the blast and many had been thrown into the water.

Afterwards, emergency workers carried corpses up the beach on stretchers and buried them in a shallow grave.

The Nigerian Red Cross said local people arrived on the scene after thieves had initially ruptured the pipeline.

"We found that vandals have drilled holes on [into] the pipeline, from where they have been stealing fuel," said Nigerian Red Cross Secretary General Abiodun Orebiyi.

"We advise strongly Nigerians to desist from this dangerous act."

Local people were apparently gathered around the site of the leak when the fuel ignited. Five hundred jerrycans were found at the scene.


Appeal to injured

The BBC's Sola Odunfa in Lagos says any villagers who survived would have fled in case they were arrested for stealing petrol.

"We have combed through the bushes and nearby creeks to see if we can find those injured so that we give them medical assistance," Mr Orebiyi said.

"We have seen none yet. We are appealing to those who may be in hiding to come out for medical attention."

Our correspondent says Atlas Creek is a small fishing community but some people have moved there because rent is cheaper than Lagos, where they commute by speedboat.

The pipeline serves the Atlas Cove petrol depot, which supplies south-western Nigeria.

Despite being the eighth largest oil exporter in the world, Nigeria has to re-import refined oil products, such as petrol, because of decades of neglect of its own refineries.

The pipelines often pass through poor communities, who break them to steal the precious fuel.

Militants have frequently targeted the centre of Nigeria's oil industry in the Niger Delta, further to the east.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4765695.stm

 

[tastyintestines]

OW!

Baby's Hand Severed at Chocolate Factory
May 15 1:41 AM US/Eastern
Email this story

HONOLULU - An 18-month-old girl's hand was cut off when it became caught in a conveyor belt at a chocolate factory she was touring with her family, officials said.

The girl's left hand was caught Saturday in a belt at the Menehune Mac Factory Gift Center, fire officials said. By the time firefighters arrived, employees had bandaged the girl and retrieved her hand.

"Our guys just put it in a bag on ice, just to preserve it in case doctors are able to do anything with it," Fire Capt. Chris Ah Mook Sang said.

She was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, which did not release her condition.

The girl and her family were attending the company's Fifth Annual Mother's Day Candy Making Event, a fundraiser for the Hawaii Children's Cancer Foundation.

Menehune Mac President Neal Arakaki said he was investigating.

"We feel so bad about this," he said. "This is something truly out of the ordinary. Everyone's just really shook up."

Arakaki said the factory was sanitized and production resumed in a different area of the factory.

Menehune Mac, founded in 1939, is the oldest existing manufacturer of macadamia nut candies in Hawaii, according its Web site.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/15/D8HK19KO0.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Friday, June 9, 2006

Man attempting to hang himself falls, dies


Bicyclist later hits body and is injured.

By JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register

COSTA MESA – A man trying to hang himself from the Adams Avenue Bridge fell and died early today, and a bicyclist who later hit the body was injured, police reported.

Huntington Beach police issued an alert about the man at about midnight Thursday, saying he had reported he was going to force police to shoot him to death, said Costa Mesa police Sgt. Mike Ginther. The man attempted to hang himself from the bridge at about 6 a.m. today.

"The rope broke and he fell" to the riverbed about 30 feet below, Ginther said.

The man then slit his wrists, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reported, and the bicyclist later hit the body and fell off the bike.

The man who tried to hang himself died at the scene, Ginther said. Officials have not yet released the man’s name.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is handling the part of the case involving the bicyclist because it occurred on the riverbed. The Sheriff’s Department said the rider was taken to Hoag Hospital but had no report of the bicyclist’s condition.

www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/loca ... 175766.php

 

[ramonmercado]

Canada pilot in toilet trip drama
Passengers on a Canadian plane had an unsettling in-flight experience after the pilot found himself locked out of the cockpit after a trip to the toilet.
Instead of slipping back inside, the Air Canada Jazz pilot was seen banging on the door and talking to his first officer on an internal phone.

Crew members were forced to take the door off its hinges to let him back in.

An airline spokeswoman said the first officer could have landed the flight by himself, and there had been no danger.

'Rare occurrence'

The incident happened on an internal flight from the Canadian capital Ottawa to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The pilot went to use the toilet at the back of the Bombardier CRJ-100 plane, which carries about 50 passengers, with about 30 minutes of the flight left to go.

At no time was the safety or security of passengers compromised

Manon Stuart
Air Canada Jazz

On his return, he found the door jammed, and it eventually had to be removed to let him back in. The plane landed safely.

Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stuart said the first officer had remained on the flight deck throughout, adding that the door malfunction was a "very rare occurrence".

"To the best of our knowledge, it's the first time we've encountered this problem in-flight," she told AFP news agency.

She said passengers had remained calm during the incident.

"We investigated the incident... and the crew followed standard operational procedures," she was quoted as saying. "At no time was the safety or security of passengers compromised."




http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5301172.stm

 

[rynner2]

Bore riders rescued from mudflats

Four men attempting to ride the Severn Bore on their personal watercraft were rescued after becoming trapped in mud.
A team from the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) were called to Frampton Sands on Sunday afternoon.

The group could not be reached by lifeboat and a helicopter from RAF Chivenor in Devon was called in to airlift them to safety.

A two-hour search continued for a fifth man, who was later found to have scrambled ashore near Slimbridge.

Danger to surfers

His watercraft was later found washed up several miles away at Chepstow.

SARA coxswain Geoff Dawe said the men, all said to be in their 40s, had not realised the strength and swiftness of the tides.

He added that the lives of others were put at risk, not just their own.

"There's a major implication, that personal watercraft chasing the bore are a great danger to surfers," he said.

"They could make them fall off and run them down."

Hundreds of surfers and sightseers come to the River Severn to ride or watch the tidal waves, which can reach up to 2m (6ft).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/glou ... 334428.stm

Let's not mince words here - 'personal watercraft' are JETSKIS, the invention of the Devil, and only used by water-going chavs!

All jetskis should be rounded up, together with mini-motorbikes, and CRUSHED!


(In typing the above, I accidently wrote 'nini-motorbikes' at first - but I like it! Henceforth I shall refer to these obnoxious little machines as ninny-motorbikes! )

 

[naitaka]

Woman chokes during marshmallow eating contest; in critical condition

LONDON, Ont. (CP) -- A 32-year-old woman is in critical condition after choking during a marshmallow-eating contest at the Western Fair in London.

Paramedics were called to the fairgrounds just after 7 p.m. after the unidentified woman was reported choking.

The woman was apparently taking part in the Chubby Bunny contest, in which contestants stuff as many marshmallows as they can into their mouths.

EMS duty manager Al Hunt says the woman was revived at hospital and was in critical condition. Hunt says the woman had no vital signs when paramedics arrived at the fairgrounds.

http://www.canoe.ca/OntQueTicker/CANOE- ... Choke.html

 

[rynner2]

Bumbling Brit's second Outback SOS in a week
By Nick Squires in Sydney

(Filed: 14/09/2006)

A British tourist has shocked Australians by twice getting lost in the Outback in the same place, in the same circumstances, in a bungle which nearly cost him his life.

Martin Lake, 50, "the bumbling Brit", first went missing last week when he strayed from a well-worn path at a historical telegraph station on the outskirts of Alice Springs.

Wearing only shorts and a T-shirt and carrying three litres of water, he spent three days lost in the wilderness, despite being only a few miles from the edge of town.

He made a desperate call to police on his mobile phone, starting a huge search involving officers on foot, three helicopters, Aboriginal trackers and rangers.

When Mr Lake was found in the desert on Sept 5 he was badly dehydrated and so burnt from the 86F (30C) heat that he looked like "a freshly-cooked lobster".

Police said he was less than three miles from the town and almost within shouting distance of outlying houses.

He was flown to hospital, but not content with having survived one near-death experience, he returned to the area on Friday, apparently to recover belongings. Again he struck out into the desert and became disorientated in a landscape of baking red rock and parched scrub that looks very much the same in every direction.

He made another panicked call to police but was unable to tell them where he was. After a while his phone went dead.

He had, for a second time, broken the cardinal rules of Outback survival — he had no hat or sunscreen, not enough water and had failed to tell anyone where he was going.

"He told me he was somewhere north of Alice Springs and that's about it," said Sgt Graeme Farquharson, the search co-ordinator. "He didn't have a clue where he was."

Mr Lake, a divorcee and former trainee policeman, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, was found by a helicopter crew on Tuesday after spending another four nights in the bush. Again, he was only three miles from Alice Springs.

Northern Territory police, who were surprised that he did not call earlier, said he was in Alice Springs hospital where he was being "assessed" both physically and mentally.

"Because of his condition we haven't had an opportunity to drill down to the nitty-gritty of his circumstances," said Supt Richard Bryson. "But in a general sense it's been proposed that he'd lost something on the first occasion and he'd taken it upon himself to go back to locate it."

Officers said Mr Lake was lucky to have survived the first ordeal, let alone the second. He was the talk of Alice Springs, with locals calling him "a silly Pommy bastard."

Dave Hunt, the manager of the Memorial Club, where Mr Lake enjoyed a few beers before his mishaps, said: "The first time, everyone was thinking 'poor bugger'. But the second time we were thinking, he must have something wrong in his head — why would he go back?

"You'd have thought he'd have said to himself, 'Jesus, that's one place I'm going to stay away from'."

Rangers said the Old Telegraph Station, where Mr Lake went missing, is a popular tourist attraction with clear trails where visitors rarely lose their bearings.

"Getting lost is one thing, but to do it a second time — I've never heard of that and I've lived here all my life," said Edwin Edlund, of the Parks and Wildlife Commission.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... alia14.xml

 

[rynner2]

Jumping stingray stabs US boater

A US man has been stabbed in the chest by a stingray which leapt on board his boat in Florida.
James Bertakis, 81, was critically ill in hospital after undergoing surgery to remove the stingray's barb.

He was brought ashore by his granddaughter and her friend, who were also on the boat, after the attack.

Last month, Australian TV naturalist Steve Irwin died when a stingray's barb pierced his heart as he filmed at Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.

US officials say they are shocked at the attack on Mr Bertakis.

"It was a freak accident," David Donzella, acting fire chief in Mr Bertakis' hometown of Lighthouse Point, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"It's very odd that the thing jumped out of the water and stung him. We still can't believe it," he said.

Surgeons were able to remove some of the barb from Mr Bertakis' chest.

The stingray died on the boat after the attack, officials said.

The stingray is a flat, triangular-shaped fish, commonly found in tropical waters.

It gets its name from the razor-sharp barb at the end of its tail, coated in toxic venom, which it uses in defence when it feels threatened.

Attacks on humans are extremely rare, scientists say.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6066862.stm

 

[kirmildew]

Well the stupidest accident I've heard of happened to a chap called Bob I used to drink with.
One evening, very very drunk outside the pub, Bob bent over to do something- tie his shoes, retrieve a dropped item, I don't know. He was so pissed that he stumbled, stood on the fingers of one hand, continued to stand up, and broke some of said fingers.
Well done, I say.

 

[rynner2]

Town turns into sticky pudding
By Nicole Martin
Last Updated: 1:19am BST 28/10/2006

If the thought of semolina makes your stomach turn by reviving memories of sloppy school dinners, spare a thought for the people living in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. They woke up yesterday morning to find a dusting of the grains covering roads and pavements after a factory silo malfunctioned and blasted two tons of it into the air.

As staff from Great Yarmouth Borough Council tried to clean the semolina away with water, it became sticky and turned into the dessert loathed by school children across the country. John Hemsworth, the council's head of environmental health, said the grain was thrown out of the top of the Pasta Foods silo after a sudden release of pressure.

"It looked like there had been a heavy frost," he said. "Everywhere was just white, even the grass. We had 10-15 people trying to clear it up, but as soon as it got wet it became more of a problem."

Pedestrian access around the town's Haven Bridge was closed off while cleaners battled to get rid of the sticky pudding. Mr Hemsworth said: "We had to get permission from the Environment Agency to put it in the river, then permission from Anglian Water to put it into the drains. It was all very complicated."

link

(Various dockside areas sometimes get similar if less severe problems, if the wind blows dust from ships unloading semolina over nearby houses.)


edited by TheQuixote: fixed big link

 

[GNC]

http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-11-13/

Swank Attacked by Wayward Suspender

Oscar-winner Hilary Swank suffered a shocking injury on the set of her latest film after being hit in the face by a suspender worn by co-star Gerard Butler. The Boys Don't Cry needed three stitches after one of the suspenders snapped and whacked her above the eye. According to gossip site Pagesix.com, the incident happened on the set of forthcoming movie P.S I Love You, but it wasn't serious enough to stop the actress coming back to work the following day. Swank plays a widow who discovers messages her late husband wrote her before he died in the movie.

Do they mean braces, or the things that hold up stockings? Either way, it's a ridiculous accident.

 

[rynner2]

Ridiculous - and seasonal!

Santa's donkey shocked in crash

Santa will have to rent a donkey to help him this Christmas after one of his animals met a tragic end.
The creature - made of polystyrene - was decapitated after making contact with live cables as Santa drove along a road cordoned off after an accident.

The earlier crash - at Tadcaster, North Yorkshire - had left the wires exposed.

Emergency crews were amazed when a man dressed as Santa, towing a nativity scene on a trailer, ignored the closure and his plastic donkey touched a cable.

In the original accident, a woman's car hit an electricity pole, bringing down the wires.

She was not hurt, despite her vehicle turning over, but was treated for shock.

Fire crews said both Santa and the woman had lucky escapes.

Now Santa is hoping someone will give him a new donkey for Christmas.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nort ... 201858.stm

 

[escargot]

On the R4 news I heard that Santa was foully abusive to the emergency crew.

 

[rynner2]

On the R4 news I heard that Santa was foully abusive to the emergency crew.

What?! That sweet old bewhiskered gent, friend of children everywhere - surely not! 8)

 

[Min Bannister]

Yucky, poor dog.

TARA the Labrador cross liked nothing better than eating up the biscuit crumbs dropped by her owner's children - until the day disaster struck.

The mischievous pooch sniffed out the remains of some shortbread which had fallen on to a paper shredder in her owner's Craigentinny home.
Click to learn more...

But as she stuck her tongue to retrieve the tasty tit bit she activated the machine, trapping her tongue which left her howling in agony.

Her frantic yelping alerted owner Linda Brown who ran across the living room of her home in Loganlea Road to find her pet bleeding badly.

The injured dog had to undergo two operations on her mouth, and had to have one-third of her badly-damaged tongue amputated.

Mother-of-three Miss Brown said the 12-year-old Labrador cross was lucky not to have died.

She said: "It was horrific. It will haunt me for ever more.

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1810592006