ENGINE TEARS INTO CARRIAGE:

Chronicle (Levin), 23 May 1946, Page 5

ENGINE TEARS INTO CARRIAGE: ^

Press Association '

MIRACULOUS ESCAPES FROM DEATH

By Telegraph—

INVERCARGILL, May 22. , j Crashing into tbe rear of a workers' i train at Makarewa railway station at 5 o'clock this afternoon, tbe engin& of a mixed tfain from Tuatapere sbattered the last carriage in wbicb about 30 men were seated. Miraculously only five of them suffered injury and as far as could be ascertained tonight, only one was seriously hurt. Four of the men were taken to the Southland hospital at Kew and one was removed to his home. i Tbe accident occurred just as the workers ' train, wbicb comprised an engine and four carriages, was about to leave Makarewa station for Invercargill. - Before the signal to depart could be given tbe train from Tuatapere appeared around a curve about 100 yards north of tbe station. Immediately he saw the danger ahead tbe driver of the Tuatapere train applied tbe brakes but be could not' bring the train to a standstill before it crashed into tbe fourth carriage of the workers' train. .. It tore balf way through the carriage before coming to a standstill. Tbe men in tbe carriage which had iongitudenal seating, were thrown in all directions and those who saw the wreck were amazed no one had been! killed. i One man was wedged between the J splintered side of the carriage and engine and it was necessary to tear away parts of the woodwork to extri- , cate him. Anotber smashed his way through a window. When he realised that a collision j could not he avoided, the fireman on | the Tuatapere train jumped clear hut | found himself in a dangerous situation. j The tender of the engine swung j abruptly to the right, the side on which { he had jumped, and toppled over. Then bales of hemp came tumbling from a wagon. The fireman, who suffered no more than a few bruises and a shaking, saw the danger in time and was able to jump clear of the wreck age. The driver, striving his utmost to • bring the train to a standstill hefore it reached the stationary train, remained on the engine and escaped with a shaking.