ANOTHER FATALITY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4377, 13 February 1922, Page 2

ANOTHER FATALITY.

NEAR MANGAITI BRIDGE. MR THOMAS HARGREAVES. Another drowning fatality occurred' this morning, Mr Thomas Hargreaves, of Thames Road, Paeroa, being drowned in the Waihou River near the Manga it i bridge. Deceased was a middle aged man, and leaves a widow, two boys, and one girl. From information to hand it transpires tjiat the deceased was in charge of a barge, which was being towed from.Te Aroha. by the Northern S.S. Company’s “Rotokohiu" (Captain Me- • Donald). When the vessel was. passing under the Mangaiti bridge a, member of the crew noticed that Hargreaves was in the water, apparently having fallen off the barge. The captain at. once gave orders Ip the detachment of the barge, and the turning of the vessel upstream towards the spot where the man was seen in the water. When'the locality was reached, the engineer (Mr R. T. Harnett) dived overboard, but -ould find no trace of the unfortunate man; evidently he had sunk 'Hiring the time taken to detach the bn’-ge and «o . get the vessel headed upstream. No one saw him siiik.' Deceased was at one time a surfaceman on the railway, but had left that work, and had taken up land, and was said to be getting along very well. Much sympathy is felt for the . bereaved relatives. It is learned that the late Mr Hargreaves could swim, but the current is very swift at Mangaiti. It is presumed that deceased struck his head / on one of the- higii banks in that locality, and so got knocked off. . A pathetic incident reported is that Mrs Hargreaves (and daughter had purchased railway ’'tickets and were . just about to go on board the train for Auckland, on holiday, when the sad news reached them. Up to the time of going to press there is no trace of the missing body.