THE CERBERUS ACCIDENT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 57, 18 March 1881, Page 3

THE CERBERUS ACCIDENT.

••^F^ Melbourne, March 8. ■ '^a^Cerberus torpedo accident engi o . < s consideration in Melbourne. It app ar trralfa gig, with a seventy pound fcorpolu on board, proccoded to make the last of a series of experiments. While the torpedo was being lowered iuto the water the wii\ became entangled with an oar, and the torpedo exploded, blowing thiee men to atoms ; one other svrvived a short time ; the fifth was killed immediately, but the body was recovred ; while Jasper, the sixth man, miraculously escaped with "a few bruises, Houston, of the Torpedo Corps, seeing Jasper struggling iv the water, gallantly swam to his assistance, aud, at the risk of his own life, was the means of bringing him safe aboard the Cerberus. The cause of the accident is at present shrouded in mystery, but an enquiry is immediately to be held. Mr. Murray, chief of the Torpedo Corps, suggests the faulty construction of the torpedo with the dynamite atop exuding nitro -glycerine, causing a premature explosion. One thing is perfectly clear — there was no connection with the current of the battery.and the torpedo wire. The inquest on the bodies commenced at Williamstown on Monday. At the inquest on the body of the victim of the torpedo explosian, Jasper, the sur- j vivor, and Murray, the electrician, were ! examined, but no real light was thrown on the causes of the disaster which will probably remain a mystery.