Caught In Treacherous Part Of River

Chronicle (Levin), 3 January 1948, Page 5

Caught In Treacherous Part Of River

Press AssociationJ

(Per

AUCKLAND, -Jan. 2. ~ Two .yOung- hTDlf-^cast Maor-i -boys were drowned in tragic circumstances in 'a pool'bf the Rangitailci ldver near Muriipam, 4.0 thiles from Retorua, ear'ly this a®feeri'sidon.v They wefe eaiught in .'a p'aJivticn®at!ly tfecacherous •section of deep SWitlinjg water and, their br othe-r watch-. ed -helplessly f-rom the" bank while thqy were earried out and sucked under. ! The boys,- who were bietheis, were Miiehad Joseph . Dunn, aged 9, !and Patriek Tofoa Dunn,,' aged 5. They were so-ns of Mr. iR. Dnnii, FnMic Works Departmenf employfee, ef Murupara. • The -two boys ;and a third b-r other. Rich'ard, -aged -7, ( were iplayi-ng in the backwn-ter of la-whirl pool in the Rahgitaiki rdver behind the Duun house about haif n wi'ile north ef Murupar-a villuge. Their parents did not know they w-eie there. The youn'gest bo'y stepped imto deep water -and although he eould s-wim,, Was not able to get baek to the bank and was swif-tly swept -out into the mi'ddle of the turbulent pool. His nine-yea-r-old brother M-ichael immecj.iate]y went to his re'scue, but was ■not abie to- reaeh him-dn the eddying water .and within a fevv minutes both were drawn under and drowned. Riehand, the t'hird brother, i-an home for help. A pa-r.ty of Murupara residents hurried to -the pool, but the dangerously. swift water presented a serious obstacle to the reeovery of the bodies. The vvhirlpoo'l, whic-h is typieal ef many \~pi;y deep .heies in this section of the Rangitaiki river, prevented the bodies from being earried away downstream .and from the bank they could be seen lying in 15 feet of water.. Two 'Murupara men, Mr. Er-nest Tilley and Mr. Harrv Twist, volunteered to dive for the bodies and after severn! gallant attempts brought both boys ashore at about 2.30, ari hour after they were drowned. Gratitude for the prom.pt manner in whieh these two men undortook the risky. work, was expressed after wards bv the police who, witli - •out diuefs, would have had considerable dl'ffieultv in probing the pool. Artiflcial , respiration was applied for some timo by tlie d'istrict nurse at Murupara 'buli without success.