FT270

A giant bale of hay killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) after it crashed into his van at around 12.30pm on 3 September. Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died instantly after the 300kg (or 600kg) bale rolled down a steep field next to the A381 near Halwell, Devon, and smashed through a 4.5m hedge into the road. Edwards played with the band between 1972 and 1975 and left to become a Buddhist, changing his name to Deva Pramada. He swerved into another vehicle as the bale crushed his cab. The other driver was unhurt. [R] Guardian, D.Mail, Sun, Metro, 6 Sept 2010.

Six filipino workers died at a water treatment plant in the Malaysian state of Sabah after inhaling poisonous gas while cleaning a tank. Two of the six, aged between 16 and 30, entered the tank to do cleaning work and when they failed to emerge after an hour, the others went in search of them. Gold Coast Bulletin (Queensland), 24 Mar 2010.

The millionaire owner of the Segway upright scooter company died on 26 September after riding one over a cliff. Jimi Heselden, OBE, 52, plunged 9m into the River Wharfe close to his home in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire. A former miner, he made his fortune developing the ‘Hesco’ flat-pack wire-mesh blast wall to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He bought the Segway company in December 2009. He had donated £25 million to charity in the last two years, and died in a tragic act of courtesy – reversing his two-wheel battery-powered vehicle to move out of the way of a walker on a bridle track. D.Telegraph, Metro, 28 Sept; Sun, 28+30 Sept 2010.

Rescue crews responding to an emergency call in Palm Bay, Florida, found three people lying on the ground, not breathing. Melville Braham, 55, his wife Anna, 49, and their 15-year-old son Anthony had attempted to raise a ham radio antenna when they lost control of the pole and it hit an overhead power line carrying 13,000 volts. The woman died at the scene, while the father and son were pronounced dead in hospital. [AP] 14 Oct 2009.

Twelve Indonesian children died on 6 June while taking part in a ceremony to dispel bad luck after a measles outbreak in a remote village in Aceh province, Sumatra. “There were 37 kids gathered together on a wire-cable suspension bridge when it collapsed and they fell into a river,” said district chief Ibnu Hasyim; 25 were rescued with minor injuries, but 12 others, aged 12 and younger, were swept away in the strong currents. The children were watching adults throwing chickens into the river as an offering. [AFP] 8 June 2010. 

Estate agent Samuel Allfort showed prospective buyers around an £800,000 house in Notting Hill, west London, on 29 June while the owner lay dead on her sofa. He assumed divorcee Katherine Frame, 55, was sleeping and continued with the pre-arranged viewing. He left the living room to view last in case she awoke in time to meet the buyers. He returned to the house after the viewing as he felt “something didn’t seem right” and noticed Ms Frame had turned a “yellowish” colour. He called an ambulance, and a paramedic discovered that she was dead. An inquest found she had died from “natural causes exacerbated by chronic excessive alcohol ingestion”. D.Mail, Metro, 16 Sept 2010.

Devin Clifford, drummer with the Canadian dance-punk band You Say Party! We Say Die! collapsed during a performance at Vancouver’s Rickshaw Theatre on 16 April, and died in hospital two days later. National Post (Toronto), 19 April 2010.