Oranges lie rotting on the ground in a field 02 November 2005 in Immokalee, Florida after Hurricane Wilma tore through the area on 24 October 2005 causing extensive damage to the state's citrus crop. According to estimates, Wilma knocked 17 percent of citrus crops off trees resulting in a loss of millions of dollars worth of fruit. Phillippe Diedrich/Getty Images/AFP PHOTO



Missile-parts truck blasts off.

Projectile fuel for a ground-to-air Nike missile exploded in a tunnel. There were no casualties, but the accident raises questions of safety in South Korea. There are many factors related to the accident, such as keeping security rules for arms carriers, maintenance of trucks, and fire in a tunnel. They should consider the problems of the accident from various angles.
First of all, the accident resulted from military concerns, which is lax in the practices of transporting weapons. They didn't escort the arms truck, even though it was traveling a long distance. There wasn't any safety equipment for damage or explosion on the truck, even not enough fire extinguishers. The truck driver didn't get information about the importance and the contents of the load. It is noted that the military authorities didn't care about the transportation of the arms. They should take measures concerning the accident precisely, and solve the problems immediately.
The immediate cause of the accident was from the overheated brake lining of the truck carrying the projectile fuel of the missiles. It is with great disappointment that if they had kept up maintenance of the truck well, they could have prevented the accident. The truck driver was informed a week prior to the accident that there was "no problem" with the truck. The maintenance of the truck might have been done without care. It was fortunate that other drivers could escape the exploding truck. From the accident, people can know how dangerous a fire in a tunnel is and how important it is that people immediately escape from the scene.
The military authorities said that as the fuel was solid matter, there wasn't any danger of explosion. In reality, the accident scene bore a close resemblance to a bombarded war-zone. They should also probe closely into the accident, which might be quite related to out-of-date equipment. The military must stick to the safety rules of arms transportation, recheck lack of preparedness, and renew its facilities. The pending tasks of the military are quite related to life and property of the people, as well as safety.
/ 입력시간: 2005. 11.03. 09:16