BLASTING ACCIDENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1452, 29 May 1912, Page 5

BLASTING ACCIDENT.

SERIOUS LOSS OF LIFE. 8y Telegraph-Press Association—Copyright. Sydney,. May 28. A serious blasting accident occurred jit the new Government quarry at Minnamurra, in the Woollongong district, where a siding is being constructed in connection with the railway works in that locality. A charge of dynamite exploded prematurely, with the result that five men .Were killed and two seriously injured. . (Eec. Miiy 28, 11.0 p.m.) Sydney, May 28. Two more men have succumbed to their Injuries.received in the blasting accident. The names of the dead are:—Abbott, Cooke, M'Donell, Lewis, .Steffens, Heald, Karnes, and Nurse. Three others are in|urcd. [It will -be notioed that eight names are given, • whereas the total number 'of the dead is stated to be only Boven.] The cause' of the accident is unknown. About thirty men were employed in the quarry. Some had miraculous escapes. Abbott and Steffens, who were working close to the fatal blast, were killed, but a third man escaped almost scathless. The other victims were loading a dray 6ome distance away. A huge mass of stone was hurled on top of the dray, smashing it, and killing the horse and three men, besides fatally injuring two others. The driver, Campbell, was thrown over the horse's head, but not seriously Injured. Later. Information from other sources state 3 that Steffens and Heald were seriously injured, but does not confirm the report of their deaths.