• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Man survives trying 'world's deadliest job' that could take 30 years off your life or kill you instantly

Home> News> World News

Published 16:49 17 Dec 2024 GMT

Man survives trying 'world's deadliest job' that could take 30 years off your life or kill you instantly

Dara Tah said those who work at Mount Ijen are a bunch of 'incredibly strong people'

Olivia Burke

Olivia Burke

You might think your job is tough, but you will probably have a new-found appreciation for it after seeing the peril that some people put themselves in to earn a living.

Even daredevil Dara Toh breathed a sigh of relief after clocking off from his trial shift with the sulphur miners who risk their lives at Indonesia's Mount Ijen day in, day out.

The YouTuber has travelled the world to visit the 'deadliest', 'most haunted' and and 'most infected' islands, so his 570,000 subscribers know he has a strong stomach. But even he was 'struggling' while attempting to keep up with the workers who have one of the deadliest jobs in the world.

Advert

In his latest video, Dara explained he had flown to Indonesia with his friend and fellow content creator Matt James to give sulphur mining a go for himself.

The Irishman said: "The workers here have to fight off toxic gases spewing from the volcano, some of which can kill you instantly, and others appear to drastically reduce the workers lifespan. The risks to the workers' health are so extreme that it's hard not to question why are they doing this job...so in order to answer this question, I tried to complete the job myself."

So, Dara headed to Mount Ijen - an active volcano in Indonesia, renowned for it's blue flames - to partake in some of the back-breaking labour that's involved in sulphur mining.

Dara Tah tried out the 'world's deadliest job' sulphur mining at Mount Ijen (YouTube/DaraTah)
Dara Tah tried out the 'world's deadliest job' sulphur mining at Mount Ijen (YouTube/DaraTah)

Gas clouds

Dara explained that he would be making his way down to the mine, which is situated at the bottom of the volcano, while documenting the 'insane conditions' which people are working in along the way.

Advert

The first challenge which employees are met with is the constant stream of 'gas clouds' which engulf them, meaning that gas masks are an imperative piece of kit if you're on shift at Ijen.

"The gas that we're about to encounter is a mixture of sulphuric gases coming from deep within the volcano - some of which, can kill you instantly," Dara said.

"We had to just hold our breath and hope that the wind would take away the gas. I didn't expect to have my lungs irritated, even with a gas mask," as Matt added: "My eyes are stinging!"

Inhaling this toxic smoke is obviously not good for people - but that's not even the deadliest part about being employed as a sulphur miner at this volcano.

He explained the toxic gas clouds can take decades off of peoples life (YouTube/DaraTah)
He explained the toxic gas clouds can take decades off of peoples life (YouTube/DaraTah)

Acid Lake

In what could be considered as an elaborate booby trap laid by Mother Nature, an acidic lake - which is recognised as the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world - lies on the route to the mine.

Advert

Although it looks like the perfect place to take a nice dip, this liquid actually has a dangerously high concentration of sulphuric acid - and Dara wanted to prove just how potent it was.

Looking out across the acid lake, he said: "The workers must avoid falling into a lake full of acid. This may look like water, but this is one of the most dangerous acid lakes in the world.

"We're about 2 metres away from incredibly concentrated sulphuric acid. It almost looks like you want to jump in and swim around, but you go into that and you will die."

He then pulled out a metal nail on a string and dunked it into the lake at Mount Ijen to see demonstrate why it was so deadly - and as I'm sure you guessed, the nail promptly began disintegrating.

Dara added: "It's literally fizzing metal! Holy crap! Oh my God. If the can do that to metal, can you imagine what it would do to a person?"

Advert

The acid lake might look picturesque, but it is in fact deadly (YouTube/DaraTah)
The acid lake might look picturesque, but it is in fact deadly (YouTube/DaraTah)

'A nightmare'

From there, the adventurer then made the final leg of the lengthy journey to reach the sulphur mine.

Explaining how the 'world's deadliest job' works, Dara said: "There is sulphuric gas building up in the bottom of the volcano.

"They insert these pipes deep into the volcano, and then what comes out of the pipes is the crazy, poisonous, toxic gas - which then eventually solidifies and creates sulphur.

Advert

"Sulphur is a chemical that can only be mined from active volcanoes. The world uses sulphur every day. It's used in medications, cosmetic products and even batteries."

After watching the professionals do it first, Dara then began chipping a way at the sulphur - which he said was extremely physically demanding, especially as your being hit with 'plumes of toxic gas and can't breathe' at the same time.

"Holding your breath is incredibly important," he said. "It's actually incredibly hard to describe how disgusting it is in there. This is a nightmare of a reality for these guys."

According to Dara, despite being absolutely exhausted by the graft he had put in while mining around a kilo and a half of sulphur, it was only worth $0.25, or 20p.

"You've got to get lots of that," he said. "And this is just the start of the job, it's about to get a whole lot worse."

Dara admitted he struggled with the trek, which workers usually complete twice a day (YouTube/DaraTah)
Dara admitted he struggled with the trek, which workers usually complete twice a day (YouTube/DaraTah)

The final hurdle

After mining a decent amount of sulphur, workers then place their haul in two wicker baskets which are balanced on a pole across their shoulders.

They then embark on a lengthy trek up the crater - which ultimately proved too much for Dara.

"They have to carry the weight of an adult male all the way up the volcanic crater - all the while trying not to pass out, fall or breathe in the gas," he said.

As he tried to juggle all these tasks himself, the YouTuber began to struggle for breath as he approached the 100ft mark.

"It is incredibly heavy," he said of the cargo he was carrying. "It is incredibly sore on the shoulder. I can't do this."

By 400ft, Dara was forced to make a pit stop - and despite multiple attempts to finish off the rest of the hellish hike, he just couldn't muster up the energy.

Speaking after his shift, he said: "That's definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done. I tried again and I tried again and again, but ultimately I failed.

"That is so hard. That made me feel sick.

"And they do that [the trek] twice a day! Incredible. Incredibly strong people and unfortunately exploited with this kind of work."

I'm not sure if Dara did end up answering his question about why workers put themselves through it as he intended - but at least he made it out of the mine alive.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/DaraTah

Topics: Health, Jobs, Science, World News, YouTube, Travel

Olivia Burke
Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

X

@livburke_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Diver recorded his 'final moments' after being left stranded 30 miles off shore
  • World's most remote post office that hires yearly has job description involving penguin counting
  • Tourist dies after falling 250ft into active volcano as husband was taking picture
  • Man stayed overnight on 'world's most haunted island' and shared 'alarming' things he encountered

Choose your content:

6 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • 6 hours ago

    World's 'first flying car' is going on sale much sooner than you think

    Flying cars are still something for the future, but apparently the rapidly approaching future

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Experts issued warning over certain tattoo colour that could increase risk of deadly disease

    There can be some long-term health risks to going under the tattoo needle

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Man who didn't sleep for a record 264 hours suffered from horrendous and potentially deadly side effects

    He smashed the record but suffered dangerous side effects in the process

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    The targets Iran could strike as it issues chilling threat to UK amid ongoing conflict

    The world isn't feeling particularly safe right now

    News