Incident at Durham yesterday

[MidnightFlyer]

VIDEO REMOVED DUE TO VIOLATION OF TERMS OF USE now greets you. Did he die?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

VIDEO REMOVED DUE TO VIOLATION OF TERMS OF USE now greets you. Did he die?

Yes. And very painfully.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Yes. And very painfully.

Whoa, thats a bad as the guy who uploaded Tommy Cooper's death

 

[Dennis]

Well I would have thought that we'd all be well aware of the dangers of 25,000 volts passing through ones body, as most people here don't seem to be idiots, but fair enough.

I don't worry about the dangers of 25kV, in fact I regularly subject myself to shocks of a few kV; it's the current flowing which does the damage.

Quite an interesting read on the subject.

 

[wensley]

Whilst it will bother some people the video really didn't affect me - the guy is stupid enough to touch the wire, he dies, simple.

I appreciate the points made about people having time to act during the incident but you would have thought that even a member of the piblic would have tried to stop him?! I certainly wouldn't stand there and watch someone do that but it is a different matter if he got spotted when nearing the cantrail line as one person getting fried is more than enough.

 

[Hard2handle]

From today's 'Nothern Echo' newspaper:

A MAN is lucky to be alive after being shocked by 25,000 volts when he grabbed overhead power lines in a busy train station.

Witnesses said the 23-year-old climbed onto the top of a stationary train to retrive his shoe after friends threw it during a prank.

He was blown from the carriage by the force of the electric shock.

The man, from Cornforth, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham is now recovering from serious burns in hospital and may require plastic surgery.

A spokesman from the British Transport Police said: "This young man is lucky to be alive.

"The overhead cables carry 25,000 volts and are always live.

"Trespassing on the railway and climbing onto the outside of trains is dangerous as this incident shows.

"This man has serious burn injuries and will have to be assessed by a plastic surgeon".

Shortly after 7pm on Saturday emergency services were called to Durham station when they received a report of a man on the tracks that had come into contact with the overhead cables.

The man was taken to Newcastle Royal Infirmary where he is currently being treated for serious burns.

His condition last night was described as poorly.

It is believed the man climbed on top of a stationary train to retrieve his shoe, which was lodged there.

He suffered an electric shock from the overhead cables and fell onto the track.

No one else is believed to have been involved in this incident.

Eyewitness Matthew Atkinson, 21, a student at Durham University said: "I looked up and saw him on top of the carriage, and almost instantly there was this almighty bang and a flash and then he fell onto the tracks."

Trains were halted in the area and the power was switched off.

The accident was witnessed by a number of football fans travelling home from Sunderland's 1-1 draw with Wigan.

 

[142094]

Very lucky indeed, not only to survive the electric shock but also for falling onto the tracks.

Here is what the Newcastle Journal had to say about it.

 

[The_Stig]

You have to wonder. They are calling the guy that climbed up stupid (which he was), what about his a*****le 'mates' that threw them onto the train in the first place?

If he pulls through he had better buy a lotto ticket.

 

[fsmr]

Very lucky indeed, not only to survive the electric shock but also for falling onto the tracks.

Here is what the Newcastle Journal had to say about it.

Incredible on two counts
Anything over 100 volts has the potential to create enough current through the body to kill and we are talking mili amps of current , not 1000s of amps associated with a connection to earth
Also the fall in itself let alone onto a running track. Plenty of folks are dead just falling over in the street, not 15 feet off a coach roof
I would hazard a guess that he was inebriated enough to cause him to bounce like rubber ball prevenmting more serious injuries. Must have also had a very low conductive body i.e not much salt (dunno how alcohol affects the conductance

My resistance is so low i can get a belt off a 12 volt car battery which being an electrical engineer on 3 phase industrial controls tends to instill a healty respect for the old electrickary
I have known some sparkies though that can get away with touching 3 phase415v (240 to earth) without incident

25kv at thousands of amps now thats a different story

 

[scotsman]

Incredible on two counts
Anything over 100 volts has the potential to create enough current through the body to kill and we are talking mili amps of current , not 1000s of amps associated with a connection to earth
Also the fall in itself let alone onto a running track. Plenty of folks are dead just falling over in the street, not 15 feet off a coach roof

I believe the cause of death in a lot of these cases is actually the injuries associated with the impact. Alcohol does tend to dehydrate people, so that could explain the low conduction.

 

[cuccir]

His condition last night was described as poorly.

Poorly!? He's just had a few thousand volts pushed through him. He's in hospital. Is anyone in hospital not 'poorly'? Are the Echo employing five year olds to write this stuff?

 

[jimrbrobinson]

Poorly!? He's just had a few thousand volts pushed through him. He's in hospital. Is anyone in hospital not 'poorly'? Are the Echo employing five year olds to write this stuff?

It's one of the medical professions standard categories of status, and I'm surprised they're quoting him as being 'poorly' given the nature of injuries I would have expected him to have suffered. If this is accurate, he's been exceptionally lucky. IIRC the worst case is Critical, followed by Serious, and then Poorly is the lowest level where remaining in hospital for high-level treatment and observation is required. Sometimes stated with a 'but stable' indicating that the person's condition is not anticipated to get worse at this time. My understanding is that this description would indicate he is requiring relatively little active intervention to keep him alive, but that his condition is changeable as they don't say he's stable.

 

[33056]

I have been unfortunate enough to see the results of somebody coming into contact with 25kv ohle. The person concerned actually manged to walk / stagger with assistance away from the lineside despite being severely burned but succumbed to their injuries some two weeks later - a truly horrible way to go and one that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

 

[Greeny]

I have been unfortunate enough to see the results of somebody coming into contact with 25kv ohle. The person concerned actually manged to walk / stagger with assistance away from the lineside despite being severely burned but succumbed to their injuries some two weeks later - a truly horrible way to go and one that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

Agreed. Though with very few exceptions I doubt that I'd regard anybody who survived it as 'lucky'. I've had a few of them - those who died and who survived. Though in my experience, those who come into physical contact with it (rather than touch it with something they are holding) stand more chance of being killed.

G

 

[fhs man 2]

he must of loved his shoes but it could have been worse the train could of started moving and him falling onto the track and then a train comes and you know what happens next hock:

 

[cuccir]

It's one of the medical professions standard categories of status, and I'm surprised they're quoting him as being 'poorly' given the nature of injuries I would have expected him to have suffered. If this is accurate, he's been exceptionally lucky. IIRC the worst case is Critical, followed by Serious, and then Poorly is the lowest level where remaining in hospital for high-level treatment and observation is required. Sometimes stated with a 'but stable' indicating that the person's condition is not anticipated to get worse at this time. My understanding is that this description would indicate he is requiring relatively little active intervention to keep him alive, but that his condition is changeable as they don't say he's stable.

Ah well, shows what I know! Still, its a slightly bizzare word to include in official terminology.

 

[9K43]

Obviously you mean the cant line, sole bar level is above the bogies, and most people go above that The 'perfect storm' scenario is that the electric could arc a distance of up to 9 feet, subject to conditions.

I mean what I say, when preparing a frieght train, under the wires you do not climb above sole bar level.
In a coach you go over sole bar level cos once inside a coach you are protected by the coach.
If you climb up on a TEA 101 ton tanker, the next thing you meet is OHL that can jump faster than a kangroo.

 

[spoony]

Unfortuently the lad in question passed away this morning according to a local forum I frequent where some people actually knew him. What a tragic waste of a persons life. Very sad news RIP.:cry:

 

[YorkshireBear]

RIP very sad news, hopefully his friends realise what a mess they've made

 

[Greeny]

I hope his so called friend is being prosecuted for something.

 

[fsmr]

Yep been confirmed on BBC Radio 5
what a waste

 

[Wyvern]

THUGS believed to have thrown a football fan’s shoe onto a train’s roof are facing serious criminal charges after their victim died of injuries sustained when he accidentally grabbed an overhead powerline

 

[Royston Vasey]

Hi All

I, like one or two others on this forum, use a local Sunderland AFC forum and one of the victim's friends has posted on there stating the following:

Alright folks. I worked with Andrew and he was a good mate. Cheers for starting a new thread without the jokes.

I just felt the need to post to say that the story in today's Northern Echo is an extremely sensationalist piece.

Although early indications pointed towards someone throwing Andrew's shoe onto the train, we've since been told that it wasn't the case. This information came from a reliable source who called the paramedics at the time.

It seems to have been an extremely unfortunate accident that would be hard to replicate. The [Northern] Echo have just quoted messageboards and Facebook for the duration of the story.

Andrew was a good mate who would put himself out for anyone. He'll be sadly missed by us all at work and by the group of us that go for Friday pints after work.

...

It seems that he kicked his foot out (as if kicking a football) and his shoe came off and landed on the train. He didn't get on top of the train but did climb the side and reach across. The electricity apparently arced (sp) and knocked him off the train.

Like I said, this is from the person who phoned the paramedics so I'd expect it to be fairly accurate.

He was daft to get up there but Andrew was the kind of person who cherished his belongings and his automatic reaction would have been to retrieve the shoe. He's paid the ultimate price but I guarantee it was just his natural response and he wouldn't have thought of the dangers at the time.

Thread here (warning - some strong language)

Nobody threw his shoe.

 

[the sniper]

Sorry to bump this thread, but just noticed this on the BTP Media site:

18 Oct 2010 16:50
POLICE CONTINUE APPEAL FOR WITNESSES AFTER DEATH OF MAN AT DURHAM STATION

British Transport Police (BTP) investigators are continuing to appeal for witnesses after a man suffered serious burns at Durham railway station and later died in hospital last month.

Andrew Minto, 23, of West Cornforth, County Durham, died after the incident at the station on Saturday, 11 September.

It is believed that shortly after 7pm, Andrew climbed on top of a stationary train to retrieve his shoe, which was lodged there. As he climbed up, he made contact with the overhead cables, suffered an electric shock and fell onto the tracks.

Police attended the scene alongside paramedics from the North East Ambulance Service and Andrew was taken to Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary, where he was treated for 40 percent burns.

A week later, Andrew died in hospital, in the early hours of Saturday, 18 September.

In a bid to establish the full circumstances surrounding Andrew’s death, BTP officers are continuing to appeal for anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

Following Newcastle United’s home game against Wigan on Saturday, 16 October, a one-month anniversary appeal saw BTP officers speak to passengers at Durham station in an attempt to gather further information.

Detective Inspector Stuart Mellish said: “It is just over a month since Andrew’s death and our investigation to understand what happened is continuing.

“Anyone who was in the area at the time, or who has any information, no matter how small, is asked to contact us so we can build a clearer picture of what took place.”

Anyone with information about the incident should contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting background reference B2 of 16/09/10.

Seems to be witnesses on the net, looks like they haven't yet come forward to the Police though. Obviously, only contact them if you were a witness yourself.