Two Drowned In Launch Mishap

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30978, 7 February 1966, Page 1

Two Drowned In Launch Mishap

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, February 6. A man and a baby are believed drowned, and four children suffered severe burns when a 13ft 6in runabout caught fire in the Waikato river near Tuakau this afternoon.

Three adults and two other children also in the boat were injured but not admitted to hospital.

A jet boat and a 14foot runabout raced to the rescue of the occupants—two families —but were unable to save the man or the baby. They were: Graeme David Glasgow, aged 32, a die caster, of Helvetia road, Pukekohe. Christine Fletcher, aged seven months, the daughter of Mr and Mrs G. E. Fletcher, of Wellington street, Pukekohe. Two of the four children admitted to Middlemore Hospital were in a serious condition tonight. They are Neil Malcolm Fletcher, aged three, and Virginia Lynn Glasgow, aged seven. The other two, Janice Ann Fletcher, aged five, and Lance Phillip Glasgow, ae*”’ four, were in a fairly s- 'tory condition. Five Treated The five people taken to hospital, treated and discharged, are Graham Edward Fletcher, father of the injured Fletcher children, his wife, Mrs Marjorie Kathleen Fletcher, and son, Raymond, aged six, and Mrs Gwendoline Fay Glasgow, wife of the missing man, and daughter Karen, aged three. The owner of the jet boat. Kenneth McDougall, of Pukekohe, tonight described how he and his wife held on desperately to Mrs Glasgow and three young children. Mr McDougall said: “We heard a yell that a boat was on fire. We could see the burning boat about 200 yards away.

“We started off towards them immediately and as we got nearer we could see about 10 heads in the water about 50 yards from the river shore and 70 yards from the blazing craft.

“My wife jumped over to help Mrs Fletcher and the child she was holding. I carried on. 1 went about 10 or 15 yards to where there were a group of people. “I came up to a young boy. The jet boat just edged him and I tried to grab him. “When I couldn’t reach him I jumped over and waded and half swum with the boy who was aged about four or five.”

Mr McDougall said: “I came upon Mrs Glasgow who had a badly burned child in her arms. The child I w’as supporting was severely burned. “I slowly went with this boy who was holding on to Mr Glasgow, Mrs Glasgow and herchild towards shallower water besides the willows. My wife also came toward the shore with a child.”

Mr McDougall said that w’hen he reached the willows he found Mr Fletcher with one child. “He asked me to go back and see if his baby was still in the boat. But it was a mass of flames by then,” said Mr McDougall. Brian Tyson, aged 11, of Tuakau, who had been in the other runabout involved in the rescue had swum in a lifejacket to the jet boat abandoned by Mr and Mrs McDougall and took it to the people in the water. Mr McDougall, Mrs Glasgow, ) r Fletcher, and two of the jijured children were pulled i:to the jet boat and taken 1> shore. Mrs McDougall was liken to shore in the other runabout. She went back to ook for Mr Glasgow but with•ut success. Scream Of “’Fire” Robert J. Tyson, aged 35, of Auckland, the owner of the 14ft runabout which helped in the rescue, said that after hearing a scream of “Fire,” he and his nephew, Brian, went to help. “When I got to the scene the boat was a burning wreck and the people had left it. I saw two people, a man and woman, each supporting a child in their arms,” said Mr Tyson. The adults were identified as Mrs McDougall and Mr Glasgow.

“1 picked up first the child from the woman's arms and then the woman herself,” said Mr Tyson. “1 got the child from the man’s arms and then had to get back and control the boat because it had turned and drifted away from the man. “When I turned it was too late. The man had gone. I made a couple of sweeps but could not find him,” he said. Into Jet Boat Brian Tyson said later: “I .had a life-jacket on and when (we got there I dived overj board and got to the jet boat which was drifting.

Brian said that he pulled a woman, to whom his uncle had earlier thrown a lifejacket, into the jet boat.

“1 did not know how to contrrl the jet boat but I found out.”

Brian said he then picked up another woman and took them both to Mr McDougall beside the willows.

Mr J. C. Nicholson, of Pukekawa. said that he and a friend were on the Onewhero side of the river when they heard an explosion.

“I heard a whole lot of screaming. We could see the burning boat—most of it ablaze. Mr Nicholson said that he and his friend then jumped into a car and were taken to the Tuakau side of the river.

“We went through the reeds and willows to the edge of the river. It was about six feet deep,” he said. “I helped put one woman, who was nearly drowned, and a young child into the jet boat.” Two ambulances were rushed to the scene and took the injured to Middlemore Hospital. The boat finally sank about 50 yards from shore and about a quarter of a mile from where the accident occurred.

Up to seven boats were searching the river today for the bodies of the man and baby.