Shrapnel from imploding Calif. power plant sprays crowd, injuring 5, severing leg of 1

[NewThinkingChance40]

Thank goodness no one was killed. i have never heard of such a thing, thought there was enough planning in these things to keep this from happening.


B

AKERSFIELD, Calif. — One man had his leg severed Saturday and four others were also injured as shrapnel from the demolition of a power plant flew into a crowd of more than 1,000 spectators that had gathered in California’s Central Valley to watch it come down, officials said.

The crowd gathered at 6 a.m., some sleeping in their cars overnight, in the nearby parking lot of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Bakersfield to watch the planned implosion of the steam power plant owned by the public utility Pacific Gas and Electric that had been decommissioned for decades.

After buildings came down in a fiery crash, a police officer heard a man screaming for help and saw that his leg had been blown off.

“It was a piece of shrapnel that came flying out of the explosion and came across and went through a couple of chain link fences,” said police Lt. Scott Tunnicliffe.

Full Story is here :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/shrapnel-from-imploding-calif-power-plant-sprays-crowd-injuring-5-severing-leg-of-1/2013/08/03/e8a74b14-fca2-11e2-89f7-8599e3f77a67_story.html

[Logical]

1. How in the world could an explosives expert not see this possibility? n-t

[hunter]

2. Video of the demolition (no blood)

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-video-of-bakersfield-power-plant-demolition-shows-debris-flying-20130803,0,7545541.story

But what the hell? This is the kind of story you read about from nations that don't have it all together.

I guess we've become one of those nations.

[Lancero]

3. Honestly?

They lined up to watch a building get blown up and are complaining that they got injured?

What did they expect to happen? A building is getting blown up. Shrapnel happens.

Call me heartless if you wish, but this looks like a case of idiots losing after deciding to tempt fate.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Yeah, you are heartless... and a bit ignorant.

The injured people were in a Lowes parking lot. Not to mention there was an active/open road in the immediate vicinity.

One would expect the officials and the experts would take precautions to keep the surrounding parking lots and roads safe.

That said, I wouldn't go anywhere near one of those demolitions. People have been killed. But I'm smart.

[Lancero]

8. Explosions

Despite any safety measures, will always have a inherent risk.

These people were lined up in full view of a building that was about to be demolished with explosives.

When you tempt fate, fate will sometimes bite back.

Had a person been injured while driving by? I'd feel sorry for that person. But for people who lined up, knowing full well that the building right in front of them was about to go boom? Yeah, not much sympathy for them.

[Posteritatis]

6. It's not like they were in the building's parking lot at the time. (nt)

[Lancero]

7. It's not like...

They were lined up to watch the building explode.

Oh right, they were.

Had the shrapnel injured someone walking to their car, yeah. I'd feel sorry for that person. But to line up in full sight of a building that is about to go boom, and then complain that you were injured because of it?

When a building explodes, is demolished, peices can and will fly everywhere. Even with all precautions taken, this is still a inherent risk with imploding a building.

As I said before - This building was being blown up. What did the spectators expect? Pies to come flying out? No, they expected to watch a building go boom. And they made the choice to line up, watch it go boom, with only a couple of chain-link fences to protect themselves from the shrapnel that the explosion would generate.

[pinboy3niner]

10. They were outside the safety perimeter, where no one expected to be at risk

It was announced in advance, with people being told:

Residents who plan to watch the demolition, should find a safe place to watch that is outside of the safe clearance area.

http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/pge-demolition-to-close-coffee-road-saturday-morning-080213

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. I don't think you understand the process.

There is SUPPOSED to be more than a few chain link fences between the explosion and the spectators.

The charges get wrapped in mesh and sand bags to prevent what happened here. Somebody fucked up.

[A Brand New World]

4. My husband is a retired news videographer. A couple of years ago

he was on the scene of a demolition of an unused smoke stack at an power plant. The tower fell the wrong way over some live power transmission cables. He & others came within inches of being electrocuted by the falling cables. Scariest thing that ever happened to him in over 40 years of the news business. These implosions are certainly not risk free.

[Bigmack]

9. Could have been a whale...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. LOL. I've never seen that.

"As god as my witness, I didn't know blubber could fly!"

[NewThinkingChance40]

14. That's a big oops

sorry for throwing the dead whale all over you...

[Jesus Malverde]

13. another vid.