A FATAL EXPLOSION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 105, 27 January 1908, Page 7

A FATAL EXPLOSION.

"MAN KILLED AT MAHANQA BAY. ■, TRACIC ENDING OF A VOLUNTEER \ * i CAMP. < f. j 1 ' ■ 'After .;:a fortnight's! excdlcntwork: afc Mahanga Bay, tho-16 days' annual cnureo ol\ j. , > instruction of No. 5 Company, Now Zealand•_ Engineer: Volunteers (Lieutenant Fitzgerald commanding), terminated yesterday ,under ■ : , the most distiessins circumstances ' . 1 : The last two days of tho course, Saturday.) •• •,and' Sunday/ itrtra devoted to explosions demolitions," trader- the . instruction, of Cap- 1 .. tain Simon. 11.N.Z.E. .' By . i-.av meant tho destruction of bridges, railways, v: , . v ; ;;. rock obstacles, and so forth i 'j 1 Yesterday morning, about II o'clock/, two A;i ,i;, ~!i detachments, commanded:. by . Lieutenant'Jr Fitngerald and Captain SimonTCspectively, ~ were • engaged in ■ practising what is techmo- 4? ■ ■ a 1 a alljr known as " hasty demolitions." A steel J ~ii ; rail, 'representing, a-lmo of railway to baf- ...t: destroyed, . was placed m position by oae of j ' the detachments 1 down <on : tbo'; beach, > vsyftS'S 78 yards from > the camp "caboose.'V.-vA cliargo .of gun-cotton was attached to if i . ; . ; " web "'.o! i tho rail, and, fired by a fuso. .Nv Tho men were ordered to retire out of thav- sy danger ,Bone,s and Captain Simon fired'thel-s-vo~<,.'ia fuso, timing, it at 90 seconds. ' v.;., J; - Then came' tho explosion 1 at ,25 minutes j < v.■■■,•;. v past 1 l.- o'lrfrmediattly afterwards, Thomas $.) /■ ■■ i Sail, a man who. had/been engaged.as camp ; cook,'was Been by a man-natoed . : to.bo lying neor.-lns '? caboose,-" ; .not far from.: the water tap, -to which, presumably, he had: • . gone for water I ■ Dr. Elliott, who was m attendance at the .. :camp,j examined the man, and fonnd that ho lad sustained a nasty, gash on the left, arm, A ind a; much; more serious injury on the left I .■ . i »ido of tlio head. Tho victim expired as.the .. .v: 1 ioctor was examining him. ■ .; v; At this stage it is not known what it was . ; that struck' the »man, or, the sub-;- ; •:;,-v;■ lance which struck his head entered the 1 brain or not 1 The, deceased, Thomas ;Hall, was . , about- 60-:yoars ■ ofJ age, ;marri6d, and rcsii-* ing at 4 Waterloo Avenue,; Newtown.'; There • is a grown-up family. .. 'j -. 1 . Upon receipt; of tho . news at. Lambt<in",f. -. ~t : Quay Police Station at' 12.20 p.m., ; .Co.[i- 3 stables Mullooly and Carmody , proceeded ''/>■ .v l; | the-'-sceno of-tho-accident. : -The- w.is. ... ( -/. brought to town and placed in the i!argue,J ? where . • concerning'. the ! circum- . .>• Stances siirroimding tho accident .will be held j this afternoon. * ! .y'-.v-.'if/i! PREVIOUS ACCIDENTS ■ Tho neighbourhood of'the big guns : at For®, |; . , Ballanco nas a sinister record. This, is the | fourth Jfitahtv in connei:tion ,wiih oporationa-i . in and around tlio-forts. v Prenous .accidental,-,; ; liavo been moro tragic, the casualties havmg'j been much, great-0r..., : ; .V 'r! 1 , ; On' November 2, .10041 .while the men. off ; tho lloyal N.Z;Artillery were undergoing! > ;'i big-gun practico at .Port ,;Ballance, tlio' j breech-block of one of Ithe two _ 12-pohndcri j Q.F. guns blew'l'out, injuring six men soJ ,] severely that one. of thsm, Quntier Palmp;p«, . i diid half-an-bour afterwards. The other iiw • .] jured menwore Gunners 1 Slines, O'NeillTf j •Sweeney, and ■ ;Fordyc€>-' and. . Zr> i PoWseii.Gunner ' Slines j sevew 5 'injuries 'in tlio abdomcii.; r and > liisC condition*' during tho next .24' hours': caused grave an-i .*iaty.V: Gunner, O'Neill was' badly m]ured9 " , 1 ; about the left, thigh, and two of his,fingers.; | ,l)(id-to bo amputated: Bombardier Petersen, .j - . .1 Wifegun-captain,' 'received severe .injuries.'.'. ' .J about, -jthof head, and lay in'grave danger, J ~ ) -,1 unconscious,■ for three..days. _ Sweeney. ,aiw Fordyco were lesa serionisly/injurwL Gunnor . i Valmor was behind tnobrcecjit when it blew, out. ;Ue blown backwarii'j j down ;'a : flight of- three , steps, .^a-cross, tbd-j. i concrete floor of the guu-pit, l and thrown. : -against 'au earthen bn.nl;'at . the rear. ; , j gun itself was practically a new one, anil , . had passed the usual War Office tests. : ;• :A. more serious catastrophe was that which;! ■ j occiirr'cd at Sholly Bay on March 5, 1891, j when two men were killed and several others ! dreadfully injured. At tho time of the acci- j dent ; lirst-class torpedo-men ltoss and Den-j sem, second-class torpedo-men Heighten ana i Goldio, and third-class liorpedo-maii; MJCaI-: j torn-*were in the,smithy engaged in 1 - j canisters with gun-cott<m. Each canister. ,■ j contained *4^lb. of the explosive, ,and -^ one of. tho mon was applying the hot solder,-; ~ : i inn iron in the process of fixing the lid the* ■ canister exploded, the, shock of the .concur 1 sion causing' the other canisters to explode;,. ' : Boss and Densem .were jso severely .lujurecl- , ,; that they, oiilv survived a ;few days. _ Goldm> . !■ .■ suffered such a shock to his . system that .tho ; ■ tonsion 'lie'-underwont : tiiraied his hair -per- , j fcotly while. ~.:"; ,f :. l ' Another gun-cotton catastrophe, the-mosM serious accident in ixiint;. of waaj tlmt which occurred at Mahanga Bay oiii, ; , Aufiist 7, 1899. . As in the case described! ■' prcvlduslvy'the, tragedy bellowed as Jig resuit of "an unexpected : explosion of gnM ! .'■ cotton! iA squad of men, consisting of bergfo| - ...; ' Olive, Corporal Blick, Sappers Teague ...an®. i Head were engaged, "under the supervision j of; Captain Falconer, iir dismantling, by mcanai j of cun-cotton, the old concrete. searchlight? .r pit and pedestal on the electric light station| • , overlooking Mahariga Baj'.-' the purpose : . of reinm-ing ah iron sofklst, pmbedded m thai . . . , ; concrete, a. charge of §UD.H*tton, to be fired! , v j bv detonators, was-bemg fixed, and hergt.., . Olive was engaged; ill "tamping the. explo-'\ ■. j sive with a smooth, round,, semaphore Hag-} •; pole, while Sapper Teagiie. was taking /the, . .-i brokeiv'Gnri-cottoh'but-of a box, wmch "ftasj ~- j held !>v Corporal Blick, and placing it on th&, ~) cronnd. when the explosion occurred. Sergt.. ■ ■, Olive, Corporal Blic.lt, and r Sappcr Tea E u& were killed, -wliilc'Sapper Head..was so Fm verelv injured that.he WM'-not expected, , 3 last thniugh the- journey- to t-oirn, but after, .■ a protractod illness he recovered. JIIO 111-0 ] q'nirv which Followed a long and Bearch-/ ing'one, but all ;efforts to clear up thei,. j mystery surrounding tie oxp.owon : were < - fruitless. It was eiteblislwd at t.lO inquiry j ith'at : it'-*vaß impossible to ; the gun--cotton by ; means of the, until.') , electrical connection. had ( been properly made,., wid. this., had - still to be done, when the • : , charge went off... . '. ■ i