Shooter’s Helper Fatally Injured

Could This Have Been You?

Tell your crew about what happened to these workers. Failing to identify hazards before a job leads to many accidents in the oil and gas industry.

A shooter and his helper were detonating 2.5 lb charges loaded at a depth of 20 feet. The drill log of the shot hole indicated that the hole was drilled to depth, loaded and plugged correctly. Conditions at the shot point while the charge was being prepped for detonation were normal. The shot hole was detonated without delay and recorded by the central unit at time zero. The shot hole did not blow out at the time of detonation and the shooter’s helper walked to the shot
point to clip the leads. He leaned over the shot hole and it blew out, hitting him in the chest area and killing him instantly.

Make sure that all crew members who work near shot holes know that there is a possibility of a delayed blow out. They should always exercise extreme caution when approaching a shot hole and should never expose any part of their body above the shot hole.