Blowtorch on live bomb? What could go wrong? (Darwin Award Winners!)

[MichaelD]

500-pound bomb. Big and scary, but it's probably harmless!
They thought it was defused..."Hey, it's really old and probably doesn't work anymore. Let's cut it up!"

Thai scrapyard workers accidentally detonated a suspected World War II-era bomb Wednesday, killing seven and injuring 19 after attempting to cut into it with a blowtorch.
The device was discovered at a construction site in Bangkok, and moved to a scrapyard before workers tampered with it, in an attempt to break it down into smaller parts.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/03/world/asia/bangkok-world-war-2-bomb/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

 

[Jeff7]

The device was discovered at a construction site in Bangkok, and moved to a scrapyard before workers tampered with it, in an attempt to break it down into smaller parts.

Mission accomplished.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

On behalf of the human gene pool, I'd like to thank them for their contribution.

 

[dank69]

Mission accomplished.

 

[NoTine42]

Sadly, I'm guessing this is a scrapping operation like India's ship graveyard where some company hires a bunch of poor people to work in very dangerous conditions without proper safety equipment or training....and then pressure them to work fast.

 

[skull]

Wow back in my younger dumber days we used to make pipe bombs just to blow up on my buddies land while we were drinking getting high. My buddy had one all packed with gun powder both caps on realized he forgot the hole for the fuse. Crazy SOB put it as is on a drill press. He insisted it was fine I ran expecting to have to drive his ass to the hospital. Nope drilled right in no spark.

 

[jhansman]

Sadly, I'm guessing this is a scrapping operation like India's ship graveyard where some company hires a bunch of poor people to work in very dangerous conditions without proper safety equipment or training....and then pressure them to work fast.

Yeah, with blow torches. On bombs. I do workplace safety training, and you wouldn't believe how stupid some people are. Or, you might...

 

[moonbogg]

Wow back in my younger dumber days we used to make pipe bombs just to blow up on my buddies land while we were drinking getting high. My buddy had one all packed with gun powder both caps on realized he forgot the hole for the fuse. Crazy SOB put it as is on a drill press. He insisted it was fine I ran expecting to have to drive his ass to the hospital. Nope drilled right in no spark.

Jesus.

 

[PastTense]

Other media say the people involved did not know it was a bomb:

"Before the explosion, a construction worker at a site near the shop found a heavy piece of iron during piling work.
He did not know what it was so he sold it to the junk shop.
An employee at the shop also did not know it was a bomb. He therefore tried to cut it open with a gas torch, sparking the explosion.
The bomb could have come in with the soil used to fill the site before construction began."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/403072/old-bomb-explodes-killing-six-in-lat-pla-khao


So is everyone here convinced they would know it was a bomb--covered with dirt and rusted?

 

[NoTine42]

Yeah, with blow torches. On bombs. I do workplace safety training, and you wouldn't believe how stupid some people are. Or, you might...

I used to fix computers in a factory. I loved the "confined space, do not enter" sign at the entrance to a heat-treating machine. ...you could clearly look in the machine and see (3) 2'+ long blue flames.

I would never consider entering there