Dredging Today team has just found this frightening video of an accident during a dredging project.
The man operating the excavator had just jumped out of the cab at the last minute. Unfortunately, equipment fails and drownings are common accidents among dredge workers.
Each type of dredger uses specific machinery to perform its task. Suction dredgers use long vacuum cleaner-like tubes to suck sediment out of the water and into hoppers or other devices for disposal.
Bucket dredgers, in contrast, use a conveyor belt-like device linked to a series of dredgers to excavate and remove materials from the waterway bottom.
Other types of dredgers use cranes with clamshell grabbers to scoop rocks, sand, and other sedimentary material from river channels, ports, and harbors.