UA-51528867-1

UA-51528867-1

How to survive a grenade attack

Hand Grenade Attack
Although hand grenades fall into the category of a small arms attack, it is a bombing none the less. A hand grenade is a handheld explosive that is activated by a burning fuse or a timed fuse, such as a military hand grenade. Hand grenade attacks are common, because they are light, concealable, and easy to use. Military style grenades can also be placed as a booby trap. Once a trip wire pulls the pin or the grenade is knocked out of place and the safety spoon twirls off, the victim only has five seconds or less to react.
To survive a hand grenade attack you must do the following:

1. Observe where the grenade lands. Not only should you note where the grenade lands, but where it might roll. Most grenades are round, and can roll quite a ways from where they first hit the ground. If it rolls in your direction your chances of survival diminish.
2. Dive away, and go face down. Do not run from a grenade, which has just landed, because you don’t know when it will explode. You may be struck with fragments (shrapnel) while trying to flee or get spun in the air by the shock front. Although grenades have timer fuses, there is no telling when it will go off. Some fuses are designed to go off in two seconds, while others go off in four seconds. If the thrower wants to take no chances of someone picking up the grenade to throw it back, or to throw it into a safe area, they do a technique called “cooking.” They pull the pin, let the grenade cook off for a second or two, and then throw it. This technique allows the grenade to burst in the air, or explode upon immediate contact with the ground giving the victims no chance to react.
3. Point you legs toward the grenade and bring your heels together. Your legs should be like an arrow pointing to the grenade, while your feet are the arrowhead. By playing the souls of your shoes together it acts as a shield between the rest of your body and the device. If shrapnel does come your way, hopefully your shoes, feet, and legs will absorb it before it penetrates vital organs.
4. Bring your elbows to the side of your rib cage and cover your ears with your hands. By using your arms to cover your torso, and your hands to cover your head, you are using your limbs as a buffer between flying debris and vital areas of your body.
5. Close your eyes and open your mouth. When a grenade explodes there is a shock front (also known as a shock wave) that expands outward from the center. This sudden high-pressure area moving through the atmosphere can rupture your eardrums and your lungs if you are close enough (it takes only 80 p.s.i. to rupture the lungs). By keeping your mouth open you are attempting to equalize the outside pressure with your internal air cavities to avoid a rupture.

Fire kills 21 at an elderly hospital in South Korea

A fire at a rural South Korean hospital for chronically ill elderly patients on Wednesday killed 21 people and injured eight in the second major fire this week as the country still mourns victims of a ferry disaster last month. The midnight blaze at the hospital in the southwest region of Jeolla was put out relatively quickly, but most of the victims were elderly patients unable to walk or move freely, leading to the large number of casualties, fire officials said. All the victims were on the second floor of one building, and most of them suffered smoke inhalation, a local fire department official said by telephone.
 
The hospital held patients who required long-term care, many with dementia or disability as a result of a stroke, local media reports said. South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy and a leading manufacturing powerhouse, has developed into a vibrant and technically advanced democracy, but it faces criticism that regulatory controls and safety standards have not kept pace.