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posted by mrpg on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the rip dept.

Two fire technicians at the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station in Antarctica have been pronounced dead following an incident at a generator building that powers a radio transmitter near the station.

The incident, which still is under investigation, occurred on Dec. 12 local time (McMurdo Station keeps New Zealand time).

NSF is not releasing any personal information about the deceased at this time. Their next of kin have been notified.

The workers were performing preventative maintenance on the building's fire suppression system. They were found unconscious on the building's floor by a helicopter pilot, who landed after seeing what appeared to be smoke coming from the structure. They were removed from the building and CPR was administered. One person was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel who arrived from the McMurdo clinic. The other was flown to the McMurdo clinic and pronounced dead there a short time later.

Two contract employees die in Antarctica


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:30PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:30PM (#774091)

    I can second this.
    I blacked out in a fraction of second just a little bit after deeply inhaling balloon gas and causing hilarity by speaking in a squeaky voice.
    I was walking, suddenly got tunnel vision, and collapsed in mid walk.
    You don't see it coming. I came to pretty quickly afterward, but I hit the floor like a ton of bricks.

    This is why I don't let anybody do the balloon trick around me. It's dangerous and people don't even know it.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:51PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @07:51PM (#774100)

    The typical number quoted in survival training is that you can survive 3 minutes without oxygen.

    However losing consciousness is another story. This can occur almost instantly if you enter, say, a pure nitrogen atmosphere and breathe normally. The problem is that if you lose consciousness, you become unable to take any action to remove yourself from danger. So you pass out in an oxygen-deprived atmosphere and then die a few minutes later. Insufficent oxygen can also quickly make you go delusional and become unable to recognize the danger to remove yourself from it.

    Inhaling once from a party balloon, while seated, and surrounded by other people is extraordinarily unlikely to cause any problem. It is probably more dangerous to cross a street.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @08:42PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @08:42PM (#774125)

      You are adding all sorts of safety restrictions to the balloon inhalation stunt.
      My point is that almost nobody is EVEN AWARE that they need any.
      I am just doing my bit to educate people that you can indeed pass out from this stunt.
      I think that is important, but hey, what would I know.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday December 13 2018, @09:16PM

      by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Thursday December 13 2018, @09:16PM (#774143)

      My neighbor had a heart attack and passed out while they were standing up. They recovered fine from the heart attack, but were disabled from the injuries sustained in the resulting fall to the floor.