1. Safety Alert Flowing Wadi No. 01 Background Causes of the incident
Jan 99
Committed to Safety
Flowing Wadi
Background
A few weeks ago, a wadi passing adjacent to a PDO drilling location started to flow. The Local Emergency Control Centre was mustered and two vehicles were dispatched to the drilling location for assessing the stability of the well pad and providing assistance, if required.
After crossing a number of shallow wadis, the lead vehicle dropped into deeper water and was stranded approximately 30m from dry ground. As the water rose, the three occupants climbed onto the roof of the vehicle. Life lines and cranes rescue methods were attempted without success.
The water continued to rise until it was just a few inches away from the top of the roof of the car, a helicopter was mobilised and, fortunately, was able to lift the three men to safety.
Please note that a similar (but more tragic) wadi incident occurred in March In this case, a rising and fast flowing wadi swept the trapped vehicle away and resulted in the loss of one life.
Causes of the incident
Driving through a flowing wadi.
The underlying causes of this high
potential near miss incident was
wrong judgement to cross the wadi.
Learning Points and Actions to Prevent Recurrence
In times of poor weather, prior to making a journey, check the weather forecast.
A flowing wadi crossing is dangerous, irrespective of whether the wadi is fast or slow flowing.
Even in relatively shallow but fast flowing wadis, rocks and possibly road washouts below the surface can be deadly.
Do not cross, in any circumstance, heavily flowing wadis.
For a shallow and slow flowing wadi, people must be absolutely sure that it is safe to cross walking the entire wadi on foot ATTACHED TO A LIFELINE.
The above actions are to prevent you to become stuck in a flowing wadi. In the unfortunately event that, despite following the rules, you do become stuck, please note that water levels can rise rapidly. If you then believe that you can reach a place of safety, e.g if you can wade to shore, then you should act promptly and leave your vehicle while you are still able to do so.
Remember, all PDO employees and contractors are empowered to STOP UNSAFE WORK and have a duty not to put themselves in any danger.