THE MINING ACCIDENT AT KUMARA.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 956, 18 July 1877, Page 3

THE MINING ACCIDENT AT KUMARA.

The melancholy circumstances attending the most recent and most serious accident which has happened at Kumara are thus related by the local paper :

Nearly opposite the Prospector’s clam on the track to Dillman’s, there is a shaft connected with a tunnel opening on to the terrace towards the Teremakau. This was being worked by a party of four whose names are Cooney, Quinlivan, Kelly, and Kiley. Of these, Cooney is a married man. His wife not finding him come homo at the usual hour for tea, became uneasy, and induced a neighbour to go into the claim to see what was wrong. He went and found that there had been a fall of earth, and that the four men were imprisoned. The alarm was at once given and energetic steps taken to rescue the unfortunate men, if possible. In order to do this drives had to be put in, in the solid ground, as it was useless and dangerous to attempt removing the fallen earth. The result of the effort so far has been that one of the men, Quinlivan, was rescued at 3 o’clock this morning, little the worse for the accident. Another, Kelly, is nearly reached. He can be spoken to, and has been keeping up conversation with those near him. Water has also been conveyed to him. Of the position of the other two little is known. The finger of ono ; we are told, has been felt by one of the would-be rescuers, and from its coldness there can be little doubt that it belongs to a corpse. In consequence of the fallen earth stopping the circulation of air in the claim, it was necessary to drive air down the shaft by means of fans. So foul was the place last night that it was found impossible to keep a candle burning. Since the above was written, which was about eleven this morning, the rescuers have been working with unfaltering energy. Kelly has been sustained by refreshments. He is kept down by earth upon the lower portion of his body, but is able to move one of his arms, and his head is at liberty. He will not be got out before 5 o’clock at the earliest. For some time previous to this the rescuers had reached a point above him, but had to be most careful how they proceeded to extricate him lest they should cause another fall of earth. The only thing that has kept the earth from killing him is a single lath, and this is said to be partlyresting on the chest of one of the others who is dead. Quinlivan has been taken to the Hokitika Hospital, as ho complained of unusual pain in one of his hips and of numbness in his legs. We are assured by experienced miners that accidents are constantly occurring through ground falling in upon the workmen. These are said nothing about as long as they can be kept quiet. Fortunately it has happened that there has been no necessity for alarming the miners, as they have not resulted in serious injury. Last night the dangerous character of the ground was made known to all by the covering in of four men, as recorded above. Two other cases have been told us, in one of which a man had to be dug out, and in the other whilst no one was overwhelmed, so great was the fall of earth that it took the party a whole day to clear it away.