A freak accident in New Zealand recently involved a truck driver who inflated 'like a balloon' when he fell buttocks-first onto a compressed air nozzle.
The man was working on his truck on the North Island when he fell between the cab and the trailer, knocking the compressed air hose that feeds the brakes. The brass fitting to which the hose had been attached pierced the man's left buttock in the fall, sending compressed air rushing into his body.
The 48-year-old said he felt as if he was going to explode and began to scream as his neck, feet and hands swelled up. "I was blowing up like a football... it felt like I had the bends, like in diving," he said. "I had no choice but to lay there blowing up like a balloon."
Work mates rushed to help Mr McCormack, turning off the compressed air and packing ice around his swollen neck. Ambulance officers removed the brass nozzle from his buttock and rushed him to Whakatane Hospital, where a surgeon treated the injury and drained one of his lungs, which had filled with fluid during the ordeal. The man said doctors later told him that the air separated fat from muscle and they were surprised his skin did not burst.
AP&P will be looking at safety tips for working with compressed air in the July/August issue spray guns and compressors feature