BURSTING OF A'BOILER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 107, 30 January 1920, Page 6

BURSTING OF A'BOILER

9 CL-TJTHA. INQUEST. • By Telegraph—Proas Association. Uunedin, January 29. The adjourned inquest concerning the explosion which took place on the Clutlm River Board's steamer Citttha on November It last, wlien 2.1 of the crew wore badly scalded and David Reddie, a fireman. Was fatally scalded, was resumed > to-dav before. Mr. J. E. Bartholomew, S.M. (Coroner). Tho Coroner said that the proximate cause of the fatality was the bursting Of a boiler through failure of the supply of water. The fireman in chargo was an experienced fireman with lengthy service on river Iwals. When it came to an explanation of how the water in Hie boiler failed and was reduced so low, they were met with an extraordinary contict between the evidence of tho deck hands and expert opinion as to what was' possible. In fact, theso were not matters on which it was incumbent, for him to express an oninion, and really it was not yet proper for bim to givo a definite finding on those issues. They were matters to which, if anything, civil liability Would attach, and they were distinctly not: pertinent to Coroners' inquiries. The formal verdict was that David Reddie died from injuries received through tho bursting of a boiler.