THE TRAGEDY IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2160, 28 May 1914, Page 6

THE TRAGEDY IN BRIEF

RESCUE WORK

INJURED LITERALLY DUG OUT

WORKERS HANDICAPPED.

(Hy TelejraDh.—Suectal Oormjjopde'Dt.) Auoldarid, May 27.

Tliore were twelve persons in the sleeping car, including tho attendant. Occupying berths in the forward end of the carriage were Messrs. Grimstone, Maekay, Swinson, Howard, and Peterson. Mr. Stevens was in the second berth cabin. Tho next compartment was occupied by Messrs. Fox and Gold-

and tho .other passengers, ' Messrs. Sutherland, Uorric and Hill, were in tho last compartment. Most of. the men were asleep or dozing when tlit; ear was' crumpled into a ghastly wreck. Mr. Stevens had engaged a

berth in one.of tlie- other cabins, .biitj finding' that .there were several unoccupied berths,-asked the iittendiurt ,toallow hini to'-use one' of tlio cabins. In response to .his request ho was moral from the last compartment, which was- the one that almost escaped injury, to the midtlle.'of the, carriage. Mr. Goldingham had been moved from tho first compartment, to .the. second, last, and although he was driven right through a partition h'e considers his injuries were mjich less severe than they might have b'een.had he remained at the front of the car.

RESCUE WORK BY LAMP LICHT. As most of tlie rescue work was carried on in the darkness, relieved ,by only a couple of lamps, there is no clear recollection of the positions in which several of the passengers 'were found. Tho postal ran was driven back on a slight angle, as the train was at the moment following a wido curve in the track. To this circumstance the escape of most of the passengers with their lives is probably dale. The body of tho van,left its trucks and drove through tho_ tremendous force. Tho main direction of the telescoping action was slightly towards the oorridor side of the sleeper, with the result that the wall on that side was crushed, the lower portion being forced outwards, while tho upper portion, turned inwards; A space of about a co'uplo of feet remained between the two walls on the other side and into .this several of the passengers were crowded. Others were driven forward in the mass of shattered woodwork, which piled up as tho car body drove through. The- postal van rose as it was driven back and the steward, Scott, and one or two passengers were.'imprisoned between the two floors of the structures. Tho luggage carried by the passengers apparently served to protect some of them from moro serious injuries than they received, for examination afterwards showed that ■several suit-cases and their contents had received the greatest forco of tho shattering timber.

MR. COLDINCHAM'S LUCKY CHANGE. "I was asleep "at the time and have no, Tecollection of what happened," said Mr. 'Goldingham in describing the manner in which he was injured. "When I regained my senses, my first impression was that I was in water. Now I feel like I did after my first football match—stiff all over, and cannot move my arms. I was really very fortunate, for the berth originally allotted to me was in the first cabin. The steward afterwards moved me into the one between Mr. Stevens and the last on tlio car. Had I not been moved I might not have escaped so lightly." Another passenger stated that he was sleeping in his berth at tho time. "Isat up in my berth," he said, "and a moment latoi was thrown to the ground, ;and the car seemed to tip up and throw me several feet away. The side, of tho car was entirely smashed in, and as far as: I could see th,erc wero several men lying on the floor straggling 'under a mass of wreckage. Apparently tlio sleeping berths had tumbled down. The car was so strewn Tvitli .wreckage that it was almost impossible to tell exactly what had happened. I aiiv Mr. Peterson lving on the ground in great pain, and somebody came along and tried to restore him. He -seemed to revive for a few moments, and then became unconscious."

INJURED LITERALLY DUC OUT. The shock of the collision was strangely restricted in its influence. Not only was the damage confined to the postal van and the sleeper wagon, but passengers in the other,carriages felt the shock no slightly that bhey thought the train had- inerclv pulled lip in usual circumstances.' Some" time elapsed before the passengers began to leave the carriages and gather at the scene of the accident. Next to tho sleeper wagon was a firstclass smoker. One of tho passengers in the latter was Archdeacon Alfred Neild, secretary of the Melanesian Mission, who was returning to Auckland. Describing' tho early impressions of tho tragedy, Archdeacon Neild said that the jar and bump with which the train stopped were not severe enough to move passengers in their seats. The shock was felt more severely further back in tho train, and in the last carriage passengers were thrown out of. their seats. One. of the passengers who gave n good deal of assistance in rescuing the injured was Mr. M. J. Jones, of Te Kuiti. He.described as the greatest handicap upon the relief work the lack of useful tools.. None at nil could be found for ,some time., and .'.the best that, could be found were two axes,,so blnnt that they could hardly be driven throuah the .woodwork, and a crowbar, badly bent and so heaWi that one man could use it oiily*by the expenditure of great effort. The men bad litcihllv to be due out of th? wreckage, and with only such poor tools the work , was "rinvoiislv prolonged. Mr. Stevens was found lying on his face buried in wroekasa about the middle' of the car. Mr. P,otcrson was tho last' recovered. When some of tho vpight. upon, him was relieved lie said. '.'That's bettor," but ns lin was released exclaimed, "I'm done." Mr. Jones .iddptl that,if ennrl nxos and some saws hud 1 been available the injured men could

have been released in half the time that was actually taken. Prominent -among those w'lio assisted in the rescue ivork were Messrs. Bowie and Sutherland, two farmers from 'Waima to, South Canterbury, who were travelling to'Dai'jiavillo. They were awakened by the initial crash of the collision, and then heard a- succession of dull reports, which they, afterwards concluded woro caused by the bursting; of the. partitions as the postal van drove through the carriage. Mr. Borrie was in tho lower berth on tho side nearer the engine, and lie .was thrown on to the floor ns tho last partition was driven back. They found tho work of rescue extremely difficult. All the .passengers" in the other compartment had lrecn crushed into a space of a eouple of feet between tho two telescoped walls or driven forward in the midst of a mass of wreckage at tlie/rear of the ear. The end of the postal van was driven into their compartment, pnrt of it striking Mr. Hill on the slioulder.

ENTREATIES OF THE INJURED. Tho wreckage, hnd to be dragged out piecemeal, and whenever one portion was moved for the relief of a passenger there was- a danger that it would release another part and increase the suffering. Some of the men hogged their rescuers not to drag them out, but .the difficulties wore so rcrcat, and the fear that.the whole wreckage might collapse so oppressive, that their entreaties had to he disregarded. "There was a great deal too much red tape this morning," Mr. Borrie declared, and Mr. Sutherland agreed, with...him. '/The gowls train." Mr. Borrie continued, "rnMit have been utilised at orioe, as a relief train to convey the injured to sonic place whore thov could he given uronor attention. This was not permitted, though several passengers urged it. When a relief train did arrive from Mercer- it was pnst eight o'clock. The more seriously injured passengers wre taken to Hamilton, but the traiivhad not left the sreu'o of tragedy when the one by which we were brought to tho city was dispatched."