1997 Arm Severing Incident
On October 25, 1997, Yang Chiung-ming and Chen Ming-kuo each had their left arms severed below the shoulder during a massive Tug-of-War event in Taipei, Taiwan. The event, held at a park along the Keelung River in Taipei in celebration of Retrocession Day (the 52nd anniversary of the end of the Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan), involved over 1,600 participants whose combined strength exerted over 80,000 kg (176,000 lb) of force on a 5 cm (2 inch) nylon rope that could only withstand a maximum of 26,000 kg (57,000 lb). The rope immediately snapped and the sheer rebounding force of the broken rope tore off the men's arms. Both men were immediately taken to a nearby hospital where their arms were successfully reattached following several hours of microsurgery.
Read more about this topic: Tug Of War
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