Compressed air turns NZ trucker into human balloon

[n2doc]

(05-25) 02:14 PDT WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) --

A New Zealand truck driver said he blew up like a balloon when he fell onto the fitting of a compressed air hose that pierced his buttock and forced air into his body at 100 pounds a square inch.

Steven McCormack was standing on his truck's foot plate Saturday when he slipped and fell, breaking a compressed air hose off an air reservoir that powered the truck's brakes.

He fell hard onto the brass fitting, which pierced his left buttock and started pumping air into his body.

"I felt the air rush into my body and I felt like it was going to explode from my foot," he told local media from his hospital bed in the town of Whakatane, on North Island's east coast.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/24/international/i180321D98.DTL

[RagAss]

1. Biting my tongue !

[phasma ex machina]

5. Aww come on. Tell us what you really think.

Anyhow, the guy still looks a bit inflated in the picture at the link.

[RainDog]

2. calling Dr. Tobias Fünke...

I'm glad the guy is alright - that sounds like it was painful.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Since he was clearly not trying to have sex with it, I have 100% sympathy. Could have killed him.

Although this is really unusual, obviously, I'm glad the guy survived it. It could have been an absolutely horrible way to die. High pressure anything is some severe shit. Anyone catch the Mythbusters episode which covered whether or not a human would get squeezed into their helmet if they were in an old-time diving suit (the kind with the big metal helmets) and someone cut the airhose? Here's a link to them trying out the myth- WARNING though it's very disturbing. I never really got how dangerous pressure could be until I watched that vidoe and...heard that sound. (shudder)

Anyway, my sympathies and I hope he makes a full recovery!

PB

[madokie]

4. That sounds terrible

I hope he'll be ok.