Nitrous oxide explosion kills 3 at Californian space rocket facility
Three workers were killed when nitrous oxide exploded during component testing on a new space tourism vehicle at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, 3 others are listed in critical condition from flying shrapnel wounds. The nitrous oxide under pressure was flowing through an injector during testing of the propellant system for the Pioneering Rocket company at the Scaled Composites facility.
Ordnance explosion kills 15 at military school
Searing heat is speculated as the likeliest cause of a major explosion on Thursday at a military school in Musalmiya, 6 miles north of Aleppo, in which at least 15 people died, the establishment includes an ammunition stockpile and a tank range, locally temperatures have soared to c 50°C.
Tourist plane crash near Bordeaux kills 4
The crash of a light tourist aircraft shortly after take-off on Thursday from La Teste-de-Buch airfield southwest of Bordeaux killed all 4 occupants, investigation into the accident has begun.
Student party ill-equipped for Mont Blanc
French authorities have recovered the bodies of 4 climbers on the Bionassay crest of Mont Blanc, the victims are believed to be international students based in Grenoble, the party is alleged to have set out without a tent and unsuitably clothed, local temperatures dipped significantly in recent days.
Harder line on drunk drivers
Estonia is set to introduce new legislation to tackle drunk driving, with a new limit of 0.15 promille blood/alcohol, at present in the Baltic republic only repeat offenders are taken to court. Last weekend Estonian police encountered unacceptably high numbers of offenders during random checks, some requiring immediate medical attention for their level of intoxication.
Floor collapse badly injured 2
Demolition company J W Ousby and Sons Ltd of Preston has been fined ?15,000, with ?5,000 costs, at Manchester Crown Court, for failures that permitted 2 of its employees to suffer serious injuries when a floor collapsed and they fell 4 metres at the former BAE Ordnance site on Hercules Business Park, Lostock Lane, Lostock , Bolton, on 23rd October 2002. Investigation found Ousby had failed to provide a safe system of work and provide the employees with sufficient information, instruction and supervision for safe demolition, an HSE Principal Inspector (Construction) explained: "The work being done by J W Ousby & Sons could have been carried out safely without extra cost if the planning or supervision had been adequate. The employees were seriously injured when the floor they were standing on collapsed beneath them. The long-term effects on them and their families have been devastating, as their injuries have meant neither has been able to work again. Ousbys were working to prepare the building at the BAE Ordnance site, Lostock, for conversion to a superstore. An internal concrete mezzanine floor was being demolished with a heavy-duty machine that can demolish the structure from a distance. This is a safe method of working so long as it is properly planned; the planned sequence of work takes account of the effects on the stability of the structure; and personnel are excluded from the vicinity of the work. This accident occurred because J W Ousby & Sons failed on all three of these points."
Estate worker killed in tractor accident
A man in his 50's died on Monday evening when the tractor he was driving left a track and fell 12m down an embankment at Hulne Park on the Duke of Cumberland's estate in Northumbria. The tractor was attached to a trailer with a load of timber, the deceased had became trapped underneath the vehicle.