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Explosion in Leicestershire pub blows side of building away

An explosion in a pub blew the side of the building away showering a beer garden in debris.

Vast chunks of masonry shattered wooden tables outside the George Hotel, in Melton, in a blast that stopped shoppers in their tracks.

The explosion, caused by a boiler being ripped apart by high pressure, happened at about 10.30am on Saturday. The usually busy beer garden was empty at the time.

The blast shattered several windows, sending glass and other debris flying.

There were a number of people in the bar, on High Street, at the time, but no customers or staff were injured. One dog had to be rescued by firefighters.

Andrew Jones, 44, of nearby Wilton Terrace, was watching TV when he heard the blast.

He said: "It shook the house. At first I thought someone had kicked the door frame. I saw the damage and it's going to be a big job to repair."

Geoff Murray, 69, was in the town centre shopping.

He said: "I thought it was a car crash. I think everyone had the same thought.

"It's a miracle it was raining because otherwise the beer garden would have been in use and people might have died."

The fire services said the boiler was in the wing of the pub used as a flat for the manager.

Nigel Alexander, the crew manager from Melton fire station, said: "There was an explosion with a partial building collapse. It was caused by a water boiler.

"If it had happened on a sunny afternoon when people were outside, there could have been casualties."

He said once the bar had been evacuated the firefighters then used their ladder to rescue a dog.

Mr Alexander said: "The dog was in the private quarters of the building and it was quite distressed. We put a ladder up to the window and brought him out on a harness.

"We've had the building inspectors round and the rest of the building has been declared safe."

A number of roads were cordoned off after the blast – Wilton Terrace to Wilton Place, and both ends of High Street and Market Street.

Gas and electricity companies were called to make sure there were no leaks or danger to the public.

The roads were reopened at 12.33pm and fire engines began leaving shortly after 1.30pm.

The rear of the pub remained cordoned off yesterday.

No-one from the hotel was willing to comment about the explosion.

      

                                      George Hotel                           The scene after blast                        The scene after blast                    

Published: 0930 AM Monday August 16, 2010

The Leicestershire Mercury

Camping safari ends in tragedy

Cape Town – A camping safari ended in tragedy for two tourists from the west coast when a donkey boiler exploded at a campsite in Botswana.

Maretha Schroeder, 58, from Paternoster, died instantly when she was presumably struck against the head by a brick or a piece of the exploding boiler.

Her friend, Niel van Zyl, 58, also from Paternoster, sustained serious head injuries and was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Netcare Milpark hospital in Johannesburg.

On Monday night family members were still trying to determine exactly what happened, while authorities in Botswana struggled to track down the families of the deceased and the injured man in South Africa.

The explosion happened last Thursday at about 17:00 at a campsite near Mankwe, apparently known as Khwai camp, according to W Pule of the police at Maun.

  “We don’t know exactly what happened. It was a freak accident. The woman was already dead and the man was already on his way to hospital when we arrived there.

“A brick or a piece of the (hot water) tank hit her against the head. Something also hit the man against the head. Nobody else was injured.”

Tracing next-of-kin

According to Pule, the police are still trying to find a family member who can claim Schroeder before her remains can be brought to South Africa.

Staff of the campsites in the area, as well as the place where the accident reportedly happened, did not want to talk about the incident on Monday.

Ren Mbulawwa, manager of one of the camps, said he knew about the incident, “but we can’t say anything before the police have been here”.

The investigating officer, a certain “Mr David”, was not available for comment.

Staff at the South African High Commissioner’s Office in Botswana said they can’t say anything until they have been in contact with the family of the deceased.

When asked how Van Zyl was taken to Johannesburg, Pule said he was taken there by plane.

Spokespeople for the clinic did not want to comment on his condition on Monday afternoon

by: News 24.com

Published: 2010-08-17 08:18

Paper Mill Resumes Production

Silchar: Production in the Panchgram plant of the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) in Hailakandi district resumed yesterday after being closed for 34 days.

A senior official of the HPC said work in Panchgram plant        had come to a halt on June 29 after an explosion in the recovery boiler (an essential component for production of paper).

The accident had injured four mill workers.

He said a few paper production technicians from other paper plants in the country were being flown in to repair the boiler.

The blast caused by a technical snag had severely damaged the boiler recovery building and had incapacitated production for five weeks.

The boiler machine was repaired under the supervision of the boiler inspector of the Assam government.

He inspected the machine on August 30 and was satisfied with the result

by: The Telegraph

Published: 2010-09-02

TWO British women taken to hospital after a boiler exploded

Two British women holidaymakers have been taken to a hospital after a boiler exploded at a hotel near Marbella.

One was rushed to hospital by air ambulance because of the severity of her injuries.

The other victim is also described as "seriously injured".

Both women were staying at the three-star Cortijo Blanco hotel between Marbella, southern Spain, and the neighbouring town of San Pedro.

An ambulance spokesman said: "We received a call around 9.35am this morning that a hot water boiler had exploded at a hotel in Marbella. We attended along with police and firefighters.

"Two people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries. One was airlifted to hospital because of the severity of her injuries. Both victims and both are from the UK. They were staying at the hotel.

"Our understanding from firefighters who have attended the scene is that pipes carrying hot water from a boiler along a wall running outside the hotel have exploded and the women have been hit by flying shards of metal.

"I don't know at this stage how old the women are or what hospitals they have been taken to.

"We understand the women were walking along the wall by the pipes when the explosion happened."

A worker at the hotel, on the main road running between Marbella and San Pedro, was unable to comment.

She said: "You'll have to speak to the manager and he's not around until this afternoon."

Part of the hotel remains cordoned off while investigators work at the scene.

A source said he believed the two women were both English and aged in their forties.

By: The Sun

Monday, August 23, 2010

15 Hurt in Boiler Explosion

Dhaka, Bangladesh- At least 15 official and workers received burn injuries in a boiler explosion at a steel mill in Shyampur area under Kadamtali Police Station in the capital Wednesday morning.

Of the injured, seven people, including assistant manager of the mill Ataur Rahman, were admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Officer-in-Charge Kazi Aiyubur Rahman of Kadamtali Police Station said a boiler of Hassan Steel Mill exploded when the workers were melting irons at about 11:00am.

By: The Daily Star

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Badly vented boiler could have blown up courthouse

PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2010) — County Clerk Diana Linnenbringer reported Monday that state fire inspectors have found a problem with the county’s courthouse boiler system which is so serious that the county faces a $5,000 per day penalty if it’s not fixed within 30 days.

The problem is that the atmospheric vent was not vented to the outside. Linnenbringer said she asked fire inspections why nobody caught it until now.

“He said, ‘A different set of eyes,’” Linnebringer said. “I need some guidance what to do.”

After being called to the courthouse for a meeting with commissioners, Waynesville Rural Fire Chief Doug Yurecko confirmed that the problem is serious.

“If there was a gas leak in the regulator, it could create a buildup of raw gas in the building, and if it found a source of ignition, it would ignite until the gas burned off,” Yurecko said.

“The courthouse would be relocated,” said Presiding Commissioner Don McCulloch, meaning by that an explosion would “relocate” the building.

McCulloch said since the county is served by Goodrich Gas, they should have maintenance personnel able to correct the problem.

Commissioner Bill Farnham wasn’t happy with how the county learned about the problem, and asked why local personnel weren’t involved.

“What kind of bugs me is the state came in here and didn’t have the local building inspector or fire chief with them,” Farnham said. “I’m not suggesting we don’t correct it … When it was installed, the rules and regulations were probably different.”

Yurecko said he was surprised this is the first time the courthouse has been inspected by state fire officials, but said severe state budget cutbacks have made state inspections less and less common.

Responding to questions from Farnham, Yurecko said his department rarely learns about a state inspection in advance.

“We run unto them once in a while but they never notify us,” Yurecko said. “The funding for the fire marshal has been cut with so many state agencies that they may not get out here but once in every four or five years … I think they’re supposed to inspect yearly, and also they’re supposed to inspect elevators, but they never funded it so how can you inspect when you don’t have inspectors?”

By: The Pulaski County Daily

Monday, August 30, 2010