104,543Records 70,659Employers 84,666Hospitalizations 27,563Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-09-30
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14550677

RUPTURE,HIGH PRESSURE PIPE,HIGH PRESSURE,RIVER,VALVE,ELEC UTILITY WORK,WATER PIPE,DROWN,HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANT,WATER

Event
RUPTURE,HIGH PRESSURE PIPE,HIGH PRESSURE,RIVER,VALVE,ELEC UTILITY WORK,WATER PIPE,DROWN,HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANT,WATER
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14550677
Report ID
1032500

Event description

Employees Washed into River by High Pressure Water

Investigation abstract

A penstock at a hydroelectric plant ruptured at a welded area. The rupture resul ted from a water hammer caused by a malfunctioning Johnson valve. Water, escapin g at approximately 3,000 cubic feet per second, washed seven vehicles, a 70- by 40-foot building, and the parking lot into the river. Employees #1 through 4, wh o were in vehicles, drowned, and Employee #5 was injured when he was swept ashor e. Employee #5 was hospitalized for his injuries.

Victims (5)

  1. #1 Fatality Age 46 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    14
    Source
    41
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    18
    Task assigned
    1
  2. #2 Fatality Age 47 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    14
    Source
    41
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    18
    Task assigned
    1
  3. #3 Fatality Age 31 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    14
    Source
    41
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    18
    Task assigned
    1
  4. #4 Fatality Age 32 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    14
    Source
    41
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    18
    Task assigned
    1
  5. #5 Hospitalized Age 25 M

    Nature of injury
    20
    Part of body
    16
    Event type
    6
    Source
    41
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    18
    Task assigned
    1

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.