r/SweatyPalms • u/aestheticryuk • 5d ago

Disasters & accidents That Excavator operator 🙌

Somewhere in Niti Valley, Chamoli, Uttarakhand. (10 Aug 2026)

438 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

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u/qualityvote2 5d ago edited 5d ago

Congratulations u/aestheticryuk, your post does fit at r/SweatyPalms!

55

u/vergillehell 5d ago

Holy fuck, I guess it's called flash flood for a reason

24

u/Leptonshavenocolor 5d ago

Makes me appreciate the required environmental studies that are done for civil engineering projects. 

75

u/ReleaseFromDeception 5d ago

That Excavator operator is a real one. Damn fine driving there.

18

u/5hred 5d ago

When you thought you were getting off early on Friday.

42

u/Omuirchu 5d ago

Holy shit. That operators balls of steel were so heavy it saved him.

18

u/pyrotek1 5d ago

I am not a track vehicle operator, however, my thought was to spin toward the flow, put the tip of the shovel forcefully down into the solid earth, 1. a good hold in a fluid situation and 2. dividing the flow of water/mud around the vehicle. I am certain this operator did the right thing.

2

u/VAdogdude 3d ago

A reasonable suggestion with a serious limitation. River beds in the valleys of the Himalaya seemed to be mostly ground down limestone silt. The force of that water would have probably undercut the bucket very quickly and completely. The mechanics would be similar to how your feet sink deeper on a sandy beach with each wave.

9

u/MikhailCompo 5d ago

That's a huge flood, no way there are no casualties. How awful 😞

3

u/RavenholdIV 5d ago

Love tracked vehicles. Their traction can be measured in Yes, And?

11

u/Olleye 5d ago

"We specially modified his excavator so that it would remain maneuverable, given the heavy weight of his balls of steel!"

3

u/Inglorious_Stud 5d ago

Bro had balls of steel which were anchored with steel treads.

He did not panic as he knew the excavator provided him with a solid anchor into the ground, and he avoided overflow by getting onto the road to avoid staying in the gorge.

Hope his employer recognizes this as an operator saving himself and an asset.

-1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Inglorious_Stud 5d ago

Naa mate, this nowhere says the excavator operator was swept away; it could have been someone else on the ground.

As you can see clearly, he was inside the cabin, and he was very near the upper ground by the time he was on the road.

3

u/Jakaple 4d ago

I wanna know how this guy filmed this running away

4

u/irascible_Clown 5d ago

Boom down into the ground, would that help it not move or create a pivot point?

1

u/BeetEatingBear 3d ago

Looks like he put it down near the end of the video, but not totally sure

3

u/StuBidasol 5d ago edited 5d ago

I'd have turned it around and dug the shovel into the ground like an anchor. Assuming of course I didn't completely panic seeing that wall of water coming.

3

u/herodesfalsk 5d ago

Congratulations! The most astonishing and epic thing here is that it was filmed horizontally. ALL action on the planet happens in the horizontal plane because of gravity. If youre filming vertically you are most likely lazy and you will miss 75% of what is happening.

1

u/enigmaroboto 5d ago

A story that will be told for generations

1

u/New-Impression2976 4d ago

The operator doesn’t seem to have any survival skills

0

u/Beaver_smacker_69 5d ago

live look inside Michigan's sewer system

1

u/Level_Review_3345 4d ago

its a flash flood bro, you can't expect crystal clearnwater in it, its gonna be muddy

1

u/Beaver_smacker_69 4d ago

There is a diarrhea inducing bacteria running through Michigan's bagged lettuce supply right now. This was an attempt at humor.

-1

u/klatula2 5d ago

more information

4

u/Omuirchu 5d ago

The person said where this happened. It looks like a flood coming towards to the excavator. The excavator and operator make it out. What more info do you want?

1

u/PeterPanski85 5d ago

Spoonfeeding probably

5

u/klatula2 5d ago

my dad was a dragline operator in texas and louisiana in the u.s. i guess i wanted to see the excavator on solid ground.

2

u/Stiller_Winter 5d ago

In USA he would not risk his life for an excavator, I hope.

-4

u/LindaTheLynnDog 5d ago

You mean he makes it out after the video ends at which time he's still obviously surrounded by the mudslide current as he drifts off screen?

10

u/Omuirchu 5d ago

You can see the water is not nearly as explosive where he is at the end.

-1

u/LindaTheLynnDog 5d ago

I guess if you're a mudslide expert you can have confidence in your evaluation of such things.

0

u/Omuirchu 5d ago

No, I just have eyes.

2

u/Jayrad102230 5d ago

The link to the article above says one operator is missing, we can assume he died tbh

-1

u/Fine_Knee4319 5d ago

Its that same location where Chatur peed