Unhappy coincidences

I had worked in the mining industry for about two years before deciding to study for a chemistry degree. On graduating, I got temporary work with a former employer. This was supposed to be for six months but it lasted longer. Realising it would not be permanent, I applied for another position with a mining company and was interviewed by a man I will call Mr. Bennett. He told me I was overqualified for that particular position but believed there would be an opening in a month or so. Several weeks later I arrived home one Friday evening to find a message to call Mr. Bennett on Monday. During the weekend there was a cloudburst near the mine and a man had been drowned when his vehicle was swept off a causeway. His name was not mentioned on the news. You can probably guess the rest of the story. I phoned the mine on the Monday morning and asked for Mr. Bennett. "Do you think this is some kind of joke?" was the angry answer. "What? No!". I explained the situation and was told that he had been drowned on the Saturday. I heard no more of the job. About 14 years later, I phoned someone I didn't know in a nearly town only to be told he had died two days before.