SAD TRAIN TRAGEDY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1057, 21 February 1911, Page 5

SAD TRAIN TRAGEDY.

YOUNG WOMAN KILLED, HUGE STONE CRASHES INTO A j, CARRIAGE. ii " 1 r SOME NARROW ESCAPES. f , n When tho 9.30 o'clock "Napier express ' ptillcil into the Pnckoltarilsi station ycslcr- j 1 day morning, it had a great gaping wound 1 in its siilo. Ono of tho second-class carriages, near . tho front of tho train, J 1 hail been struck by a huge boulder that had como hurtling down the sido of tho precipitous cliff which flanks tho lino about half a milo back from tho station, Tho great ragged lump of granite, weighing almost a ton, becoming dislodged high up on tho cliff, hod crashed down, struck tho earth near tho line, and had bounded up into the carriage, whoso side it broke through liko motchwood. With- | out any warning it had descended among tho unsuspecting passengers, creating in a moment tho utmost panic and consternation. _ ' t Ono unfortunate woman, talking with ( her friend, her back towards tho side j whence destruction canio, was immediately t stretched lifeless on tho flcor, half-buried in tho debris of shattered seat, splintered j carriage, and scattered luggage. Her j friend, strangely enough escaping bodily ] harm, was hurled momentarily stunned ( to tho bthcr sido of the carriage. About j twenty passengers wcro in tho carriage, ( and few of them escaped without cuts and f bruises of some description or another. i Saw It Coming. , ] * Tho engine-driver, who was ono of the I f«w to observe tho stono coming down, ) immediately pulled tho train up. Guard I Burroll, proceeding hurriedly to ascertain i what had happened, saw tho extent cf . tho disaster, and immediately got tho i train into to sco_ what help < could bo obtained for tho injured.' I Such was tho Recount tho cxcited pas- ( sengers had to tell tho peoplo on tho l'aekakarlki platform. The down train Irom Palmej-ston stood waiting at tho platform, and a hurried inquiry was mado along it for a medical man. Dr. Caro, a dental doctor, of Napier, ' I examined tho woman, who was lying in ' tho damaged, carriago, and had. to pro- ' neunco life 1 extinct. . ' i It was a sad scene. The disaster had como so suddenly and unannounced. Tho passengers of both trains, subdued and overcast, did their best' at proffering assistance. Tho unfortunate victim was Miss Alice Power, of Groymouth. Either tho stone, ■ or a piece of broken woodseveral largo nieces of which were scat- , tered about tho carriago—had struck her on the temple, shattering tho skull. The Injured.' ' Mrs. F. Bird, of Manakau, an elderly lady, had ,a nasty cut on tho head, and her littlo granddaughter, a child of two or threo years of ago, had also a nasty wound in tho centro of her forehead, and >yas bruised about her legs. Mr. S. N. Green, of Johnsonviile, a young man who was just setting out for a fortnight's holiday, had his leg injured, and Mrs. Sims, of Hataitai, related to Mrs. Bird and tho child, likewise was also hurt very, much about the legs, but bore up bravely; All of theso wero cared for as for as tho readj; jmepjas .would j,allow. Tho littlo child sat on tho station seat and pathetically complained to tho passengers,- amid hW'tftitt/'thftt' h'fri'littlfc'' now silk dress, which boro the evidences of her own injury, was spoiled. It was for- tho poor girl whoso -life had been taken,-however, that 'all mourned, and for her friend, whoso grief, as sho realised what had happenod, was most pitiable. After tho damaged carriage, still carrying its gruesomo agent of destruction, had been shunted to a side line, the train proceeded on its journey, taking with it all the - injured, with tho exception of Mr. Green,'who decided to return homo to Johnsonviile. Miss ' N. Moran, tho friend;of the deceased, also "remained, tho body being laid in one of tho station rooms. Meanwhile, tho authorities' waro communicatcd with, and a police constats at Johnsonvillo telephoned for. The Scone of the Accident. • , Tho place where the stono camo down was between points of tho "sand" siding and tho quarry. Judging by tho forco with which it crashed into the carriage it must have fallen from a very considerable height. . Tho miracle is thot it had not wrecked tho train. Hjid the blow came a couple of feet lower it would have met greater, resistance,' and overturned the carriage. With n deep fall into the sea on the sido away from tho cliff, it is unpleasaut to surmise what might have happened to tho whole train, tho speed of which, at this part of tho line, is generally fairly fast. It is understood that one man always patrols this'section of the lino, before the passing of a train, and that "he had just walked along. The Shattered Carriago. The rent in tho carriage side was about ' four feet' across., The blow , must havo been an upward one—a rebound after 1 the earth had been struck—for the marks s of its crushing entry wero all indicative > of that, and tho first impact, low down, ' had burst tho gas-pipe. The gas was [ freely escaping when tho train ran into t tho station. Broken completely from - its place, the seat of the car was strewn ' about tho floor. I.uggago had been scat- ■ tered about. Ono liat-box-had been struck ! on the top of tho opposite parcels rack f in some unaccountable way, and driven s right into the roof of tho enrriage. Sev- > eral of the windows wero broken. The • rock had literally cut its way into tho I carriage with quite irresistible force. 1 Several accounts wero incoherently told by the passengers. One lady, referring to the deceased, said sadly: "If it hadn't been for her I would havo been killed, f too," though it was difficult to see, ex--9 actly, how any action of tho deceased n could have averted danger to others, tho 9 disaster coming to suddenly.

A Sad' Holiday. The Saddest tale of all, however, was that of Miss Moran, of Greymonth, deceased's intimate friend and fellow-work-er for. six years. It was ft terrible blow to her. The two young Indies —rteccased was about twenty ; foiir years of nge—were tniloresses at Greymonth. They had been looking forward to .a holiday together for a long time. They had come across to Wellington a few days ago, and were going north, the deceased to Pnlmerston, where her relatives live, nnd Miss Moran to Napier. Tlicy were sitting happily looking ont at the sea when the disaster came. It is not necessary to attempt to describe the scene that followed. Miss I'ower lay half-covered with debris though untouched, then, by the rock. The Utile chili! already referred to was pinned down by luggage, nnd erieil pitifully that it was being hurt. She was soon, however, released. Tho crushing 1n of the seat no doubt accounts for the damage that resulted principally to the lower limbs of thoso injured. llow Miss Moran escaped the fate of her companion is tho marvel. Miss Moran remained at l'aekakariki until the brother af deceased, who is a solicitor of Feildiog; "arrived by tho

Auckland mail, and then the body was brought on to .Wellington. Meanwhilo Constablo Cummings, of Johnsanvillc, had been out and mado full investigations. He was nssistcd in every way by the stationmastcr, Mr. Moonoy, who also acted very kindly towards fliosc injured and in trouble. Mr. Moore, missionor, of Wellington, who was staying at Faekaknriki, and Mr. Scott, secretary to tho Tailors' Union, Christclmrcli, who was on tho train and in the fatal carriage, also were able to render assistance. Mr. Hughes, Tin: Dominion's train representative, whoso books and papers were under the damaged seat, also lent every assistance. An inquest will be held this morning at 9 o'clock. The body will be taken onto Grcymouth by tho Mapourika later in tho day. A MASSACRE FEARED.