School children and parents hurt during tour.....

Many in our industry offer plant tours to the local communities and nearby schools. These tours are done to extend goodwill and allow the attendees to better understand our operations. Here is a recent story where a tour went horribly wrong.

The pupils and staff, who were on a field trip to the port, were watching a high-powered water display by two tugboats from one of the terminals  when the accident happened, the spokesman said.

“The incident happened during a visit by a group of schoolchildren and accompanying staff members from local school, who were watching a water display by fire monitor on two of the tugboats that operate in the port in the Middle East region.

“The unexpected turning of one of the tugboats caused the water jet from a high-pressure nozzle to reach the quayside and hit the bus and the group of onlookers, causing personal injuries and damage to vehicles.”

The school has declined to comment on the accident. According to its website, the local school was set up by the local aluminium company to meet a rising demand for international education for expatriate students in the region.

The port spokesman said 24 people were injured in the accident, including students and staff from the school, and were taken to hospital, where most were treated for minor injuries and discharged on the same day.

However, one adult, believed to be a parent of one of the children, was seriously injured.

“One adult was treated for more serious injuries and remains in hospital, but [is] in a stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.”

Local police and port officials have both launched investigations into the accident, the port spokesman said.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog prays for a full recovery for all those injured in this incident. Though this incident is unique and hopefully will never be reproduced again. It should make you question about possible hazards that visitors are exposed to when touring your plants. When providing tours to large groups of individuals it is recommended that at minimum two aluminium company representatives accompany the group. One company representative can lead while the other can stay at the back of the group to ensure that no one is left behind.

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