Nine killed as chopper drops concrete block on Austrian cable-car (AFP)

[Up2Late]

(This may not be a Major disaster, but it's still quite horrifying to imagine.)

Nine killed as chopper drops concrete block on Austrian cable-car

05/09/2005 15h38

VIENNA (AFP) - Nine people were killed and several others injured when a helicopter accidentally dropped a massive concrete block, which sent a cable-car crashing into a mountain in the Austrian Alps, according to officials and reports.

"The toll is nine dead and several people seriously injured," police spokesman Ewald Barth told AFP on Monday.

At least one other cable-car was struck and people were thrown out by the impact, according to the Austrian press agency APA, quoting the operating company.

According to the cable-car operator, a 750 kilogram (1,650 pound) concrete block fell from a height of 300 metres (1,000 feet) as it was being transported for use in the construction of a telecommunications line.

<http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/050905152543.qnqeyizo.html>
(more at link above)

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. Just curious-- just how many deaths equate to "major"?

:shrug:

[Up2Late]

2. Like I said, I'm not trying to discount these lives, but compared to...

...what happening in New Orleans and the 2 Jets that have crashed in the last 24 hours, this might seem small to some people.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. One.

[Yupster]

5. Famous Stalin quote

something like a single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.

[Up2Late]

3. kick n/t

:kick: