Most dangerous Jobs

[Pbseagull]

On the news last night report of a fisherman who went overboard in the bloody awful weather conditions off the Sussex coast, fortunately found by Eastbourne Lifeboat and air lifted to Eastbourne DGH, Hopefully he will be ok.
One of my mates is a Fishmonger in Seaford but he used to work on Trawlers, he told me a while ago that we lose on average 15 - 20 UK fisherman a year. This must be one of the most dangerous jobs to have. Can anyone think of any jobs that are either as, or more dangerous than Fisherman?

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

I agree and totally admire those fishermen/women that routinely put to sea in all weathers. I love seafood but your post has reminded me that (probably like most punters) I rarely give much thought to the working conditions endured by those who catch fish for us.

I suspect that the fatality / injury rates you mention will be comparatively high compared to other occupations given the relatively small numbers still working in the offshore fishing industry. Very difficult to ensure complete safety in such a hostile environment.

HSE stats show the annual numbers of 'fatalities at work' in the UK are steadily reducing, which is good - after all anyone who goes to work should expect to come home again unharmed. The worst figures are consistently in construction and agriculture. There will be other specialised or higher risk occupations such as mining, offshore and emergency services where the figures are relatively low by comparison but get 'spikes' in the stats resulting from less frequent but serious incidents. However it appears the HSE figures may not accurately reflect the fishing industry because a lot of fishermen are self employed so may go unreported, plus accidents at sea come under the Marine Accident Investigation Board.

Of course these stats do not include the military which must have the highest fatality rates, especially when on active service. Difficult to ensure safety when putting our brave boys and girls in harms way ie IEDs and snipers.

People and the media are very quick to moan about 'health and safety' intruding into their lives. Headlines about kids not being allowed to play conkers etc get H&S a bad name. IMHO H&S in a day to day context should largely be common sense - but unfortunately not everyone is blessed with this. H&S should only be more conspicious in situations where there is potential for people to get injured or killed.

 

[Poyetry In Motion]

I used to clear signal sightings for Railtrack, which in a nutshell involved use of chainsaws to fell trees and vegetation ( that were blocking signals )whilst working next to the live conductor rail. At the time, it was listed as the 3rd most dangerous job due to the combination of chainsaws/big trees/electric current / massive trains.
Scary, but it paid well!

 

[strings]

They were saying on BBC Radio 1 news yesterday that the unsafest job in terms of percentage of deaths in the UK is farming.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Frontline soldier.

 

[Poyetry In Motion]

Frontline soldier.

Trumps me

 

[JamesAndTheGiantHead]

I always thought it was Loggers. That could be civilian jobs though.

 

[smudge]

Not really dangerous my job, but it has amazed me since leaving the RN how many deaths I deal with in this industry, (Safety Officer on a cruise ship). This week alone we had one medical emergency resulting in the fatality of a crew member (stroke) & then 2 days ago a guest decided to take her life by jumping from the top deck. It was night time, off the coast of Jamaica & took us an hour searching in our rescue boat to find the body.
I've seen more stiffs in 6 years in this game than 26 years in the mob!

 

[kip]

top 10 most dangerous jobs
BBC NEWS | Health | Fishing 'most dangerous job'

 

[surrey jim]

Makes me feel lucky. Always moan about my job yet the worst injury I have got at work is a paper cut.

 

[kip]

This job looks quite dangerous