Lookout Below

In 1995, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber under the influence of methamphetamine stole an M60 Patton tank from a U.S. National Guard Armory in San Diego, California and went on a rampage, destroying cars and a large RV before being shot to death by police. The week before his rampage, Shawn Nelson told a friend he was thinking of committing suicide.

At one point during the chase, the tank rolled over a fire hydrant and created a geyser. After 23 minutes on the loose, the tank stalled when it hit the concrete center divider on a freeway and got hung up. Officers scrambled on top of the tank, opened the hatch and fired their weapons. The shooting drew criticism as to why the police didn’t use tear gas to subdue the suspect. Police said that Nelson was “driving a 58-ton vehicle, aiming it at occupied cars and trucks and creating a serious threat to public safety.” The district attorney’s office ruled in 1995 that the shooting was justified.

For many workers, the most dangerous aspect of their job is carrying a cup of hot coffee from the kitchen to their cubicle.  But millions of people in the world risk their lives everyday protecting us, fighting for us and helping us when we’re hurt.

According to CareerBuilder.com, following are the most dangerous jobs in the U.S., with their fatality rate per 100,000 workers:

1. Fishing - 141.7
2. Aircraft pilots - 87.8
3. Loggers - 82.1
4. Steel workers - 61.0
5. Trash collectors - 41.8

UPickReviews takes this a step further and lists seven of the deadliest jobs in which workers are faced with "guns, dynamite, bombs and death-threats everyday."

Jobs That Kill

It’s the greatest animal warrior death-match since Alien vs. Predator. Paul van Bruggen snapped some amazing pictures of an 8-foot salt-water crocodile dining on a shark on the banks of the Daly River in the Northern Territory, Australia.

“We went past one section of the river and we heard some splashing,” Bruggen said. “We looked across and saw a shark’s tail coming up out of the water and then a crocodile’s head came up and grabbed it.”

The crocodile appeared to know exactly what it was doing, dragging the shark on to unfamiliar dry land before finishing off its prey.

News.com.au

It was a nightmare for parents watching helplessly as the Yo-Yo ride spiraled out of control, tossing riders (mostly children) into the air and injuring all 23 at the Calaveras County Fair in California.  Some victims were thrown through the air as chains snapped, and three riders were airlifted to nearby hospitals.

"It dropped down and dragged the kids around in circles," said Phillip Coulson, whose godson was on the ride.  Sean Ranney, who exited the ride just before it crashed, described the scene:  "We just saw people bouncing off the ground and hitting the ride.  It happened three times.  It bounced, bounced and bounced, then people started hitting the ground."  Another witness, Cassidy Dean, was standing at the base of the ride when it went out of control.  "I just saw all these little kids smashed into the ground," she said.

Investigators were trying to determine the cause, and carnival workers were being tested for drugs.  The fair remained opened, but all carnival rides were closed as police investigated.

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A massive earthquake struck central China, killing more than 50,000 people and burying alive another 20,000.  Government officials issued a rare public appeal for rescue workers and equipment following the quake, which registered 7.9 on the Richter scale.

In spite of all the death and destruction, there were stories of survival that kept hope alive.  In the devastated town of Dujiangyan, an all-night search through debris saved a 62-year-old man trapped under his collapsed house.  Rescuers and bystanders cheered and took photos with their cell phones as the man was extracted from the rubble.  Nearby a 22-year-old woman was pulled to safety after being buried for three long nights.  Her rescue was broadcast and cheered on state television.  "I was confident that you were coming to rescue me. I’m alive. I’m so happy," the unnamed woman said.

But by Thursday, officials started shifting from search-and-rescue to body recovery.

More Shocking Photos at DailyMail

Human beings had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, suggests an extensive genetic study by Stanford University.  Because of a massive drought, the number of humans shrank to only 2,000 people in small isolated groups in Africa.  Eventually the population began to climb, and humans started migrating out of Africa about 60,000 years ago.

"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species’ history," said Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence.  "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

Today, more than 6.6 billion people inhabit the globe.

More at CNN

A cyclone has devastated the country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), leaving at least 22,000 people dead, 41,000 missing, and up to one million people homeless.  The Cyclone Nargis tore through the country’s heartland and biggest city of Yangon early Saturday.  Some villages were totally destroyed, and vast rice-growing areas have been wiped out.

Relief efforts in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta have been difficult, in large part because of the destruction of roads and communications outlets by the storm.  Neighbor Thailand sent the first overseas assistance on Tuesday.  The United States is expected to contribute millions of dollars to the relief effort.

Based on a United Nations satellite map, the storm’s damage was concentrated over a 11,600-square-mile area along the Andaman Sea.  Although this is less than 5 percent of the country’s area, it is home to nearly a quarter of Myanmar’s 57 million people.  Images from state television showed massive trees and electric poles shredded across roads and roofless houses submerged in water.  "More or less all the landlines are down and it’s extremely difficult to get information from cyclone-affected areas. But from the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the final death toll may be huge," said a Myanmar official.

Frustrated residents claim the ruling military junta failed to prepare the country for the impending storm.  "The government misled people," said Thin Thin, a grocery story owner in Yangon. "They could have warned us about the severity of the coming cyclone so we could be better prepared."

More at FoxNews

The U.S. Civil War has claimed another casualty 143 years after it ended, adding to the 618,000 people who lost their lives in the deadly conflict.

Sam White, a Civil War buff who crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics, was killed in his driveway when a cannonball he was restoring exploded.  The old cannonball was still powerful enough to send a chunk of shrapnel through the front porch of a house a quarter-mile from White’s home near Richmond.

White’s death "shook the close-knit fraternity of relic collectors and raised concerns about the dangers of other Civil War munitions that lay buried beneath old battlefields.  Explosives experts said the fatal blast defied extraordinary odds.  You can’t drop these things on the ground and make them go off."

More at FoxNews

Normally we don’t show children on Lookout-Below because the subject matter can be too disturbing.  But in this case, no babies are physically harmed during this baby toss event.

Devotees at a Muslim shrine in western India’s Maharashtra state believe throwing newborn babies off a temple 50ft high and catching them in a cloth sheet will actually make the children stronger.  This bizarre ritual has been performed for more than 500 years by couples who are blessed with a child after taking a vow at the shrine.

Locals claim no child has ever suffered injury.  Both Muslims and Hindus observe the annual ritual, which takes place amid tight security.  One mother said: "If you do this, it is good for the child."

More at SkyNews