EE Incident Report 01

An explosion occurred in a welding accident on October 19, which resulted in the death of Peter Lam, injuries to Tom Li and James Chan, a damage to assembly plant.

On October 19, 2010, Engineers Peter Lam and Tom Li were repairing a backup generator beside an oil tank with a welding machine at our assembly plant in Taipo. At around 10:45 A.M., according to James Chan who was working about 300 feet away, the tank exploded and the top blew off.

James said he saw both Peter and Tom blown off the tank. They fell about 70 feet onto a paved ground. I heard James reported the incident on the radio and called 999. Rescue workers arrived within 7 minutes and rushed both men to Prince of Wales Hospital. The assembly plant was shut down for the day for investigation.

I did not witness the explosion but I interviewed Tom and James the same day. James said neither Peter nor Tom wore fire-resistant clothing and neither had safety belts to prevent falling. According to the safety guidelines, welding is strictly prohibited near flammable goods and materials. The tank was not properly emptied at the time. The project was under a tight deadline and our engineers had not received special training for welding.

Tom sustained minor burns and broken legs, but is expected to recover. Unfortunately, Peter died from head injuries shortly after reaching the hospital. I have already contacted the insurance company and they will come and have their investigation and paper work done next week.

I recommend the following to avoid any similar accidents :

Safety training on potential hazards in the work environment
Enforcement of the rules on wearing protective gear and clothing
Strict rules about cleaning oil containers before welding, cutting, or heating