An electrician had a terrifying brush with death after falling into a 720 °C vat of molten aluminium at work.
We’ve all heard stories about people who’ve suffered an accident at work - but the tales about someone tripping over an electrical cord or falling on a wet floor pales don't quite compare to finding yourself submerged in a scorching hot liquid metal.
Now, you may think this gruesome fate sounds like a villainous origin story. However, it was a terrifying incident which occurred at a factory in St Gallen, Switzerland.
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The unnamed 25-year-old man was working alongside a colleague at the plant when he fell through a trapdoor at the top of the furnace.
After falling through the hole, the man was submerged up to his knees in the molten liquid – with full body submersion likely to have proven fatal.
Miraculously the man was not only able to survive but also pull himself out of the furnace like a phoenix from the ashes.
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He was then tended to by paramedics, before being airlifted to a local hospital, with his injuries reported to be ‘extensive’ burns all over his body.
Paramedics and doctors were rushed to the scene, before the air ambulance arrived to rush him off to the hospital.
Now, the police have launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to this appalling incident.
This isn’t the first time that a serious accident has occurred at this same foundry either, with a horror explosion back in 2014 leaving a man suffering with serious burns to his face.
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Meanwhile, a worker at a factory in Iran also had a dramatic escape from molten metal after an accident saw a huge vat full of liquid metal crash to the floor of a factory.
The horror incident was captured on CCTV back in 2018 and saw the man walking across the factory floor as a large container filled with the molten liquid was being transported.
A bracket holding the container up then gave way, sending the molten metal crashing to the floor and in the direction of the terrified man.
The liquid metal had the appearance of lava as it fell to the floor, consuming the whole of the factory floor in the process.
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It gives us all pause for thought about keeping safe in places such as factories, because we might not be as lucky as this man in future.
However, it’s a reach to call the man who fell into the molten aluminium lucky, despite the fact that he had the good fortune of keeping his life.
Topics: World News, Health
Tom Wood