A TUG-OF-WAR in Shenzhen turned nasty when one of the contestants had his hand severed in a freak accident.
The man, surnamed Shi, a deputy general manager at a night club was celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with colleagues on a beach at 4.30am, according to the Southern Metropolitan Daily.
Shi, 1.8 meters tall and 34-years-old, was the anchorman in his five-man team and had coiled the rope around his hand several times for stability, letting the rest of the rope fall to the ground.
It was a fierce competition with everyone pulling as hard as they could when excited spectators suddenly joined in, grabbing the end of the rope near Shi.
Suddenly Shi screamed and fainted and his severed hand fell to the ground.
Shi was rushed to a local hospital and then transferred to the Guangzhou Peace Hand Surgery Hospital for a seven-hour operation. Shi’s family now has to wait 10 days to see whether he will be able to use his hand at all or even if the reattachment will work. Even if the surgery succeeds, all the functions of the hand will not be restored, Liang Min, the director of the hospital, said.
Yoikes!
I’ve seen a number close-calls or minor injuries with tug ‘o war.
If you organize one, be sure to take it seriously.
Probably more dangerous than wrapping the rope (which I’ve seen) is the inevitable point where the winning team falls backwards. (and, often, visa versa)
Make sure don’t have a 300lb dude geared to fall on a 50lb child.
Having been on the champion tug-of-war team in boot camp I can attest to the danger of this “sport”.
The two biggest guys anchored the end (me and another guy). One time after we had won the match the drill instructor had both teams continue to exhaustion and the other team pulled us forward and the anchor man behind me had the rope wrapped around him and it cut into his waist.
Who won the tug-of-war?
I love how reporters will use terms to the point that they no longer have any meaning. What about this is a “freak accident”?
Tug-of-war accidents are common, and wrapping a rope around your hand that is going to be pulled by a bunch of people seems like a very efficient and effective way to remove a hand.
Don’t why this is a shocking and freakish outcome.
They have a hospital just for hand surgery?? Maybe its not as much of a freak accident as they claim!
#5 – Daniel
There’s a lot of worn-out hands in China… this is a direct result of the gender imbalance.
Oh No’s! How will he surf pron now?
please
Should have kept drinking beer.
#6, Jag,
Has Angel been influencing you again?
😉