Abseil accident

[ChrisJC]

That looks 100% clear to me. You can see the rope changes direction at the edge of the concrete. That is where it breaks.

Nothing overly complicated, just rope-rub.

Chris.

 

[Wayland Smith]

:-[

 

[tony from suffolk]

Please bear in mind that the family of this person may well see this thread and that we don't know whether the person survived or not.

Some of the wild speculation earlier may well be very distressing for them.

I'm inclined to believe he survived but no doubt seriously injured. It would would be good to know this fellow's fate.

 

[cooleycr]

I have not watched the video but going from the stills I can only deduce that it was rope rub under the bridge edge and that there is a lesson to be learnt regarding rope protection.

However, the point that has already been made is that this is someone who may or not have survived and who's life may well have been drastically altered.
If he survived then we should send him all our best wishes, if he didn't then we should send our condolences to his family and friends.

I suggest this thread be locked to prevent further disquiet!

 

[Alex]

I really doubt anyone involved as this happened in Brazil will ever see this.

 

[Simon Wilson]

Because of one comment on Facebook I think it happened in China and somehow posted on FB by a Brazilian. If that is correct, because of the Great Firewall of China they are unlikely to see this thread or Facebook and we can't search the Chinese media to find out more information about the accident.

I think all of the contributors to this thread have shown a due degree of respect. The same can't be said for Facebook.

 

[Simon Wilson]

Following on from my previous statement agreeing with rope rub on the bridge lower edge I too am not so sure.

I've ripped the video and extracted the event frame by frame. Whilst the quality isn't great I think this tells a different picture:

To me the rope fails at the decender, the blur at the bridge edge just being 'whip' as the load is taken off?

Yes, I think you have it exactly right. The blurred bit in the 4th frame is the cord moving quickly sideways and is the same bit of the cord that forms the tight loop in the 5th frame.

I'll suggest that the cord broke at the descender and not at the knot because the cord was wrapped around the parapet rail and so it was evenly loaded at the top end.

 

[mikem]

Which suggests it was not a suitable rope for abseiling on.

Mike

 

[Pegasus]

However, the point that has already been made is that this is someone who may or not have survived and who's life may well have been drastically altered.
If he survived then we should send him all our best wishes, if he didn't then we should send our condolences to his family and friends.

Absolutely.

 

[Simon Wilson]

Many contributors to this thread has expressed some sympathy. I think it's probably a safe assumption that the few that haven't thought it was too obvious to need saying.

 

[Maj]

However, the point that has already been made is that this is someone who may or not have survived and who's life may well have been drastically altered.
If he survived then we should send him all our best wishes, if he didn't then we should send our condolences to his family and friends.

Absolutely.

Without hesitation.

I also feel that by this being discussed here, various failure methods have been highlighted. I'd like to think that somewhere along the line this thread may prevent a similar occurrence happening to someone else.

Maj.

 

[mikem]

The thread also demonstrates how difficult it can be to determine what actually happened from even quite comprehensive footage.

Mikee

 

[Simon Wilson]

We had some difficulty determining where the cord broke but that was purely academic. I was only interested because I found it hard to understand why it broke at the descender. I now think I understand that.

There was never any doubt about the cause of the accident and why the cord broke. It appears to be about 6mm diameter and it broke because it was too weak.

Anybody who buys a new descender in a country with good trading standards legislation, such as any EU country, (topical) should get a set of instructions. If they can read and understand the instructions then they will know that it should be used with ropes that comply with the European standards EN1891 or EN892.

Unfortunately all sorts of accidents are more common in less economically developed countries or the 'Global South' and they do have lower life expectancy.

 

[Clive G]

We had some difficulty determining where the cord broke but that was purely academic. I was only interested because I found it hard to understand why it broke at the descender.

. . .

Well, not running FlashPlayer I still haven't seen the video, apart from the still frames posted here. However, the thought that occurs to me is that the apparent rope/cord failure at the descender could simply have been the end of the rope/cord running through the descender, with no knot tied into the end - presumably because the person abseiling thought that the rope/cord was long enough for the drop?

My concern is that footage of this nature is being posted online without sufficient explanation as to the context, situation and outcome - so how can anyone offer any sort of sincere message to the victim of the event, apart from making assumptions that may be incorrect?

Where the poster asks in Portuguese: "Where is the error ??", I'd suggest it's posting the video clip online as 'clickbait', without a proper explanation in support.

 

[glyders]

However, the thought that occurs to me is that the apparent rope/cord failure at the descender could simply have been the end of the rope/cord running through the descender, with no knot tied into the end - presumably because the person abseiling thought that the rope/cord was long enough for the drop?

I had wondered about that. I'm pretty sure there is still cord below him when he reaches the ground.