PAPAYA TRAGEDY

Hokitika Guardian, 28 November 1933, Page 5

PAPAYA TRAGEDY

MINE EXPLOSION

LATER PARTICULARS RECEIVED.

GREYMOUTiH, November 28. Further particulars of the explosion in the Papai'oa Mine yesterday morning show that the explosion had a terrifying effect. Trucks were hurled about, and pieces of timber and other d e bri s shot through the atmosphere, while the concussion was -very severe. The f.mt thought of many was that the colliery •had been wrecked, and that there was going to be great difficulty to reach safety. However, the actual position was soon realised, but the coal ' dust raised and the after-damp caused,, combined to prevent the injured men from being reached fop a while, but the other miners were soon on the scene. When they reached McQuaid he was not quite dead, but wa s in a bad state, 'and he. expired quickly, .afterwards. It took a couple of, hour s before the body could be brought out t 0 the surface,, and it was then conveyed to the Roa, Hotel. The deceased, who had been at Roa for three years, spent twelve years as a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and s ome time ,as a member of the New Zealand Police Force, but ill health obliged him to seek a more active, life., The injured men were brought out of the mine on stretchers, which w;i3 quite a difficult task, as they • working nearly a mile from the mire • mouth, but the, most difficult .part of all was bringing Martin, with his broken leg, down the steep alpine track • to the Upper Settlement, and. then further down to the end of . the road at the binns. Dr-Hutson, who was in Roa to see a patient at the time rf the explosion, was early on the scene, and he attended; to the" men. Mar'm wa,s removed to * the Grey Hospital . early in the afternoon by; the ambulance, Walker bein' gsent down later. Andrew Leitch, another, miner, accom- d panied Martin to Greyrwouth. The'force of t-he explosion sirh that some of the trucks in the mine were hurtled some distance arid it is ’ thought that Marlin’s leg was broken f by being, struck by one of them.

Martin’s nineteen-year-old son urns also working in the mine at the tine of, the.explosion, but., beyond being knocked over bv the concussion, lie was not injured, and ; ; *he assisted •in 1 the -v/ovk of "extricating hjs father ■• rap'd, the other two men from the mine. The ■home that was in the mine'at the time., rather. surprisingly escaped serious iq-1 pury, although it was cut somewhat, and was both singed and blackened with coal dust. , .•• - ,

There wra. many theories to die cause of the explosion, but in any case the ’ c'aus* will not definitely be known unlit niter the inquiry, , It is conjectured that (he gas exploded was r that known rs methane (C.U.4), also known a,s mansh gns, damp and learburetted hydro eon. it i s very light, arid is the most powerfully explosive of mine gases.

•Mr Cl J. Strongmen, Tnsperfo,. of Mines, was Quickly on the p-wo

stated the : mine would probably !'« closed for three days and thM an inspection was imposs'ble -in the mcpn-tim-e owing to the air in the -mire being disarranged.'

One miner stated that the explosion caused timber to fly about in all directions, and also (brought down several falls of coal in different parts of the west level section. It was -an arduous task, lasting two hours, before Mc-Q.u-aid’s body wa-s brought out. The mine became gassy as the day wore on, and before -men can re-ent ar it will require to be well ventilated.

There, is likely to be no work fo r a couple or three days. The Paparoa mine has been 25 years in existence, -and the Company’*? outlay on it wa-s £70,000. The binns are t-h-e largest in New Zealand: The present manager is Mr A. O’Donnell. The mine was first managed -by the late Mr J. A. C, Bayne, who later became Chief Inspector of Mines.

On inquiry at the hospital last evening it was stated, that- both of the injured men’s condition was quite satis- : factory. * ' The inquest on the late Frank Mc-Qu-aid will probably be held in , Greymouth, when the, inquiry into the explosion is also likely, to be opened. : = For |some time past the PaprTda Mine has been worked on the tribute < system, the -miners being paid so much per ton by the original Paparoa Coal Company, which lha-d fart expenditure of.something like £70,000 to open ou't the mine, which goes right into the Paparoa Range, behind Rewnnui. Tt i s understood, however, that suve August- last the tribute p’rtv have ceased to work the mine and that the men are now paid by the (Company itself.