BYU Students Hospitalized After Throwing Molotov Cocktails Down Mine Shaft
- Posted on July 18, 2011 at 9:55pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Three college students were hospitalized in serious condition Monday after they were burned while dropping homemade gasoline bombs into one of Utah’s thousands of abandoned mine shafts.
A fourth Brigham Young University student also was hospitalized with less serious injuries and two others were treated and released, said Phil Sahm, a spokesman for the University of Utah Health Care Burn Center. Several others were transported to nearby hospitals. Their conditions weren’t immediately available.
The students were dropping Molotov cocktail-type devices into a mine shaft when a cooler filled with gasoline either spilled and caught fire or blew up prematurely, Utah County sheriff’s Lt. Darren Gilbert said. The accident happened about 11 p.m. Saturday in a remote area of Utah about 80 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Authorities had not released the students’ names, citing the ongoing investigation. BYU officials declined comment on Monday.
The Bureau of Land Management estimates there are up to 11,000 abandoned mine shafts on federal land in Utah, with roughly 2,400 of those having been sealed off with metal grates, agency spokesman Mitch Snow said.
Snow said one of the greatest dangers is methane and other toxic gases that can accumulate in the shafts.
“It is extremely volatile and could create an explosion much bigger than they thought would occur or it could channel the explosion right back up (the shaft) and cause serious injuries or death,” Gilbert said.
The shaft involved in the weekend accident was sealed with a metal grate, but the students apparently were dropping the gasoline bombs through the small holes, he said.
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Comments (133)
inferno
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:22pmWhen you play with fire, expect to get burned !
Report Post »ComingUnglued
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:07pmWhy weren’t all of them arrested.
Report Post »the hawk
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:36pmAt least their praticing !
Report Post »HisNameWasRobertPaulson
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:38pmThey didn’t get arrested because they are in the hospital. Read the article again.
Report Post »Miami
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:48pmHisNameWasRobertPaulson
You can be arrested and taken to the hospital, it’s not one or the other…
the hawk
They’ll make a nice target…
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:52pmPlaying with fire makes you wet the bed. So, BYU throw molitov cocktails down empty mine shafts, if they were Berkley they would have thrown them at tea partiers.
Report Post »obamanation
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 12:17amWhat else is there to do in Utah?
Report Post »El Paco
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:12amActually, there’s quite a lot more to do in utah than throw molotov coctails down mine shafts…
Report Post »/facepalm As a BYU alumnist myself, I can easily see this happening. If those students were Freshmen, it would be a lot less surprising. It’s amazing what stupidity abounds when you get a bunch of guys who have never been away from their parents together.
allredtail
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 7:49amA molotov cocktail is classified as a NFA weapon. It is the same penalty as an illegal machine gun, 10 years in prison and a $10,000 FINE. They were released???
Report Post »BehindBlueEyes
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 8:53amAmerican youth provide an abundance of material for the Jackass TV series.
Report Post »nysparkie
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 9:27amWhat INFERNO said. Bunch of Pyro’s. Set any forests on fire recently? DIP WADS.
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:07amI’M sure these kids are envirnmental terriost. Have you seen cnn Money on gold – it hit a new record yesterday. These mines belong to someone and I bet they are waiting untill it hits $2000.00 an ounce to reopen these mines. I hope the mine owners sue the kids and make them pay for the expense of reopening the mines. No one would know who did it if someone with smarts did this.
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 3:11pmmaybe they should have been trying to get laid instead:P
Report Post »Sparky101
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:02pmI had more respect for BYU, but I guess in these tough economic times they too have to accept the dregs.
Report Post »Lost Shaker Assault
Posted on July 21, 2011 at 12:53amI have invented the MAZELTOV cocktail. Much better I can assure you.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:21pmDumb
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:20pmI bet it seemed like a real good idea at the time. A little thinning of the gene pool seems to be in order…Just sayin’
Report Post »SovereignSoul
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 12:15amThinning of the gene pool? That statement infers a belief in evolution. Say it ain’t so!
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 6:49am“thinning of the gene pool” … I think they mean don’t let stupid breed, instead of evolution. I agree about the “getting men together who have never been away from their parents.” It’s the same stupid acting stuff as when people enter the military at 18…..just a stupid, sounded like fun at the time, moment and they’re paying for it. I send my prayers because my dad was burned by gasoline when he was in his early 20′s (cleaning car parts in a bucket of gasoline it caught on fire…he picked up the bucket with a broom handle to carry it out of the walk out basement and the broom handle broke…I grew up with that story and it hurts to even hear it.)
Report Post »Bluefish49
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 7:15amWhat’s the old line attributed to John Wayne…something like “Life is tuff…it’s even tuffer when your stupid”
Report Post »StonyBurk
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 8:45amDumb college boys.
Report Post »poppinbeaners
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:18pmLOL. Learning how life works. ‘You play, you pay‘ doesn’t just apply to drinking. knuckleheads.
Report Post »BlkWdow
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:38pmlol!
Report Post »agameofthrones
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:34amAnybody here NOT do something stupid when they were young? I don’t see any hands up.
Report Post »glennisright.com
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:18pmStupid is as stupid does. I hope they all recover ok.
Report Post »duckman1911
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 7:44amYou cant fix stupid…. It usually fixes itself…
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 11:00amThats the kind of education kids get from the universitys now days – they don‘t teach common sense since the librel teachers don’t have any.
Report Post »Blade
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:17pmMolotov Cocktails??? BYU??? Honor Code Violation??? LOL
Report Post »txmyrmidon
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 11:19pmyeah somehow U of U students weren’t involved with this the mormon kids were, lol go Utes!!!
Report Post »RightInSoManyWays
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:16pminstant karma’s gonna get you / gonna burn off half your face / can’t believe these friggin morons / represent the human race
Report Post »101
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:15pmSlow news day? “Molotov Cocktails” keyword for news!
Report Post »Mormonteen
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:15pm(Dr. Phil) “What were you thinking?”
Report Post »one.dakine.howlie
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:13pmI’ve already seen two comments about these guys making a “test run” or “rehearsing” for something. What exactly is that implying?
Report Post »RightInSoManyWays
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:13pminstant karma’s gonna get ya, gonna burn off half your face, can’t believe this friggin morons, represtent human race…..
Report Post »UlyssesP
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:13pmI knew a guy in the 80′s that made pipe bombs with black powder. He said they were like big firecrackers with shrapnel. He just liked the risk and excitement I suppose. I would tell him that the next time I’d see him he would be missing fingers.
Report Post »He stopped doing it after the curiosity wore off in a few months and never did lose any digits.
crazyrightwingmom
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:12pmDoes anyone remember the crazy things we did when we were kids? My brother threw a match in a can and it exploded on him. We always had scabs on our bodies from bikes, skates, jumping off garages…that’s part of being a kid. I wonder if this was done a lot for some sort of fireworks display? Probably. Just have to keep our eyes open about what our kids are up to.
Report Post »Gavinwcaf
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 10:28amdid you blow up other peoples property with explosive devices, sounds like enveromental jack a?
Report Post »doctroprint
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:12pmThree college students….
Report Post »doctroprint
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:11pm“ Three college students ” epic, and read about the education of our kids and the Atl. schools..
Report Post »we’re doomed!
one.dakine.howlie
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:09pmGreat… I can hear the anti-Mormon comments already…
Report Post »toru66
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:17pmNow that, is funny! Yup one of the trolls will take it up…. let’s see how long it takes~
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 12:05amOK, it’s hard for Mormon kids to light their own farts because their garments catch fire. I see BYU changed their admissions policy from Mormons to Morons. You know Joseph Smith used to divine a spot where gold was in the ground and go dig there, maybe these kids were not looking for golden tablets but flaming tablets, meh, weak I know but that’s all I got.
Report Post »joel228
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:43amMoss for a brain – you are right – you really don’t have (or know) much. You believe and propagate lies and yet you call these kids morons?
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:09pmI hope that their wounds heal and then that they answer the question: why did you do that?
Report Post »101
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:12pmplay with fire you’re going to get burned.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:09pmThese kids were looking for Darwin and almost found him!
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:09pmGood grief…….and I thought we were stupid when we were kids!!!!
Report Post »Rosey
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:07pm80 miles south is about Mona. Like my daddy always said, if your gonna be stupid, ya better be tough! Hope everyone is tough…
Report Post »BlkWdow
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:40pmwords of wisdom!
Report Post »eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:02pmHuh? That is a weird thing to do, and don’t bats and other critters live in these old mine shafts? Why be a destroyer?
Report Post »Marci
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:07pmYou have to ask the bigger question of why these kids were doing this. Test run?
Report Post »LibertyWon
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 2:30amTest run for what?
Report Post »if we are going to start lobbing around conspiracy theories, let’s discuss the Deep Six Horizon, Japan’s nuclear reactors, the middle east turmoil and how this might be related to shale gas? A new weather underground that spans more than one generation?
ConstitutionFreedomLover
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:01pmWhat idiots. And I don’t feel sorry for them. I usually don’t call names…but they needed to use their heads.
Report Post »AmericanStrega
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:00pmIdiots.
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:02pmWhy on earth would they do that? Are the rehearsing for something?
Report Post »toru66
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:21pmOh my God! People! Didn’t you blow up stuff and burn up things when you were a kid? Geez! They were bored, decided to do something fun (but stupid) what now? Mormon Terrorists? PLEEZ!
Report Post »Captain Crunch
Posted on July 19, 2011 at 1:58amThey weren’t rehersing for anything. They were just being adventurous having fun. I’ve been there myself and so have a lot of other people who survived their youth. WHy does everything have to be a conspiracy?
Report Post »Hungry_i
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 9:59pmFail!
Report Post »FToth84
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 9:58pmGood for them They deserved it Dummies!!
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on July 18, 2011 at 9:58pmYa just cannot fix stupid….
Report Post »nature almost got her way.