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Two men lost their arms in brutal tug-of-war that went badly wrong

Home> Community> Viral

Published 15:32 27 Feb 2024 GMT

Two men lost their arms in brutal tug-of-war that went badly wrong

The men were involved in a tug-of-war game with over 1,600 participants

Chelsea Connor

Chelsea Connor

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Warning: This article contains graphic content which some readers may find distressing.

A mass tug-of-war ended in disaster after the arms of two participants were ripped from their bodies during the celebratory game.

During what was meant to be a fun game with light -hearted competition in celebration of Retrocession Day, ended in complete disaster.

The event was held at a park along the Keelung River in Taipei back in 1997, as a whopping 1,600 contestants joined in with the tug-of-war, creating a massive 80,000 kg of pressure on the the five-cm nylon rope, which at most could only withstand 26,000 kg.

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The men had to have microsurgery.
Getty Stock

The rope snapped within a matter of seconds, swiftly removing the arms of two males who were pulling into the rope, unaware of the amount of pressure being applied.

The two men - Yang Chiung-ming and Chen Ming-kuo - had their arms severed from the shoulder down, but it's unclear exactly how the limbs became separated completely without the men becoming aware of the injuries as they happened.

As the pictures of the incident were too graphic to add to this article, the rest of the other contestants must of had a hard time processing what took place during what was meant to be a fun activity.

The two men were quickly taken to Mackay Memorial Hospital and both underwent several hours of microsurgery to re-connect their arms.

This isn't the only incident where a game of tug-of-war has ended in tragedy, though. Who knew it was such a risky game?!

The men's arms were severed from the shoulder.
Getty stock image

Back in 2013 two Californian students lost their fingers while playing the rope pulling game, which happened during an innocent spirit game lunch break.

"They wrapped the rope around their hands and somehow the rope when on to snap, I guess it created some extra tension and caused the injuries," Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Brian Riley said.

"Students cheered at first because they thought it was funny that the rope broke, but then they realized what really happened," a fellow student said at the time.

"They were just both in shock, staring at their hands. They didn't know what to do," said another in regards to the incident.

The incident happened at South El Monte High School, and both teenagers were reported to be in stable condition and underwent surgery to re-attach the their fingers, making a full recovery.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Chelsea Connor
Chelsea Connor

Chelsea is a Journalist for UNILAD. Before this she worked as a Journalist and Comedy Writer for seven years, working for companies such as Newsquest, NationalWorld and Samahoma Productions. She became a qualified journalist back in 2017, completing a NCTJ at Liverpool City College.

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@theccjourno

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