FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT AT THE TAY BRIDGE.

Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 145, 20 April 1877, Page 7

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT AT THE TAY BRIDGE.

During the night of the gale on Friday, February 2,. a most unfortunate accident occurred to the Tay Bridge, which will not only seriously interfere with the early completion of the structure, but it is to be apprehended ipay to some extent weaken the public faith in its secure stability. When the storm burst with such violence in tho afternoon, the usual gangs of men were employed on the piers and girders in the middle ot the river in the concreting and other "operations. Some idea of the suddenness and force of the storm may be gathered from the fact that it was impossible to get a steamer near the piers to release the men from their precarious position, and 54 men were left upon the girders. A momentary lull in the force of the wind was followed by a

quick and instantaneous blast ot wind which sent the spray and waves flying on the deck of the little steamer. At this instant a most terrific crash was heard in the direction of the bridge, and the wholeair was lighted up for a few seconds with great bursts of fire. Those on board the steamer describe the scene as- something apalling, and it is best illustrated by the horrified exclamation of one of the men on board, " Good God, there's a steamer blown up." The noisse and subsequent shower of fire was exactly as if some boiler had burst. Although it was not possible to distinguish the cause of this appalling phenomena from the steamer, it was but too evident that it could have but one cause. There was no vessel in that qtiarter, and it was clear that some part of the bridge had blown down, and that the crash .of falling girders and splintering columns could alone account for the unwonted appearance. The steamer put off again later, and although she had not proceeded far wh°n it again became obscure and rain began to fall, and the wind to renew its force, she kept on, and beat about until five in the morning, when sbe succeeded in getting alongside the low girders, and in safely taking on board the 54 unfortunate fellows, who were terribly benumbpd, drenched to the. skin,, and nearly dead with the cold. It was then found that two of the large girders, each measuring 245 feet, and weighing 250 tons, had been blown down, that the pier on which they mutually rested had been snapped asunder like a thread, and the strong iron work crumpled up like burnt paper. It. seems that these girders had been raised to their final height of about 80ft. above high-water mark, but werp resting on the top of the piers just as they had been raised, and without the least fastening. The men who were rescued speak of the scene and the noise when the gigantic mass toppled over into the water, as something they will never forget. The roar and crash of the falling girders, and the crackling and splintering of the columns sounded like the bursting of a thunderbolt, while the fire was thrown off from the splintering ir n as if from a huge conflagration. With a wild plunge the great girder tumbled headlong into the soa, throwing up an immense volume of water that threatened to submerge those unhappy men that were clinging for life on the low girders, , and blinding them in the clouds of spray. It was fortunate the men had taken refuge where they did. When the storm came on in the afternoon a number of them were employed on the top of the high girders, where a bothy was erected for their convenience, and to which they might retreat and find shelter from a shower or a storm of wind. At first some of the men took refuge in this erection, but as the gale increased they got rather doubtful ot the position they occupied, and although tbe wind was blowing a perfect hurricane, they managed to crawl along on their hands and knees, clinging for life, and to get down the pier to the lower girder, where, although still exposed to the bitter cold, and without any shelter above their heads, they were at all events, secure.. It thus happened that when the girders were blown down the bothy was empty, and the men who had thus evacuated it saved their lives. The girders are lying alongside the base of the piers, and on their sides, and in a slightly diagonal line, the girders to the north being most distant from the piers. At low water the girders are exposed to the extent of about three feet. Charlps M'Kinney, the foreman of the works, had his foot almost severed from his leg by a falling column. A man named •William Laughran. was not seen after the accident, and is supposed to have been drowned. He was not missed till the Saturday afternoon when the men assembled for their wages. An examination of the financialloss has been made,, and it must be, gratifying to all that the first astimate was considerably above the markkas it is anticipated that the whole damage, is not likely to exceed L2OOO. ::