A SAD CATASTROPHE.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8173, 3 May 1895, Page 3

A SAD CATASTROPHE.

Good Fitday in Mo.bourno wai imrkod hy a most painful occurrence, six men losing their lives in a tannol which is being mado under the Y*rru, near Sp »ttiswocdf, in connection with the mttropoli* tan sewerage irorks. The task of tunnelling under the bed pf the river Ins proved a most difficult one. The borings made into the bed of the s'ream before the works were let indicated that found and eisily worked material would be encountertd. A shaft was sunk 61ft, and then the work of driving a tunne! lift in diameter was undo, taken. The ground proved to be Bandy and treachsrous, and it was found that *11 the resources of engineering would be required to cany 'he work to comp'e'ion. When about 400rr of the tunnel had been driven, An «ie lock was constructed. This consists of a s'rong brick chamber built aero a tho tuntu-l, into which compressed air is pumped from an engine on the surfaco, and compress 3d air is also suppliod to the fico b >yond this in which tho men work. The compressod air is u^ed to hold up the f.ice of tho earth and to k<v p tru witor back, and the air-lock is used to alluw transit from the shaft into the face where the men work. When the pressuie of t*ir in the lock equals that in the face tho door between tho two op<niB. When it h necessary to pasj from tho nir lock back to the shaft the iron door communicating with the face H closed, and tho pressure is thus maintained there. The men work inside an iron shield, which is driven forward by hydraulic pressure. Inside this shield a coating of iron Uomsi rue ed in sections of 2ft Otn at a time, and insido this there is one f<.ot of biick and cment built. At throe o'clock on GooJ Friday afternoon five mon went on shift, and Mr Buchanan, the engineer superintending the works for M ssrs Itobb End Co., was with them nearly tho whole of the afternoon. At half-papt seven Henry Hoard, A fitter, who erected the iron plates into their position, left tho face whore tho men were working, and ptsscd in tho air look in order to get a further supply of plates, Mr Buchanan was then with the men in the face. He obtained the platos from the shaft, and was assisted by a man named Williams to push the trolly on which they were placed into tho air lock. They were accompanied byMrWaUon, an inspector for the Metropolitan Bo trd of Works Having got the iron plates into tho air lock the door leading into the shaft was fastened, and the air was turned on to the lock in order to raiso it to the same pressure as that in the face. Hoard turned the handlo so as to leave" the door free to opon when the necessary pressure had been obtained, there being at trut time no appearance of anything wrong with the men in the face. There ia ft small pane of thick glass in the door so that the men can see from one place into the other. When the air had been raised to half the necessary pressure Hoard saw one of the men who were working in the face come to the door and turn the handle. Ho attached little importance to this, though he called the attention of his mate to the circumstance. Shortly afterwards he saw Mr Buchanan standing before the trlass with a candle in his hand, and beckoning as if something was wrong, but almost before he had time to realise this there was a rush of water which put out the light, ttnd then all was over. The men in the air lock at ouoe conieotured that the river had burst in on their comrades on tho other aide of the door, but nothing could bt done to help them, At the time when Mr Buchanan made hit signala for help the Air valve was fully opened, and the pre Mure In the »lr look was being raised At the greatest possible speed, The door oould pp6 h»vt b p on opened until tho

pressure was equal on both k!clcs of ir, and when the walor rushed in and filled the excavition of courso it was quite im-pos'-iblo to movo it. Even had it boon practicable, tho w<ter would then have rushed into tho tunnel, and tho wholo of tho men would have boendrownod, Mr John Buchanan, who is one of the victims of ho aoilont, hns ben connoctod with Messrs Robb and Co.'s railway wo ks in Queensland. Ho was about 36 years of ago. i\ widowor. with cne child. Tho othor mon who porishod wore James Burke, tho boss of tho shifk, a single man, about 25 yoats of ago ; Thomas Johnston, an unmarried man, who was tho support of a widowed mother ; Martin Gaoriol, a married man, about 45 years of age ; Joseph Jackson, a young man, unmarried ; and William Foster, a married man. At tho plaoa whore the nccidont oo curred tho tunnel wan immediately under tho centre of Iho rivor. There is sup p sed to be about lilt of omh between tho top of tho tunnel and tho bottom of tho river. About 3ft of the ma'orhl in the top of tho tunnel is a sandy cl'iy, boloir that there is from 2ft t > 2ft Gin of drift sand, nod then ngu'n oomos the sandy clay. Thfiro bus hi en always n considerable leakage through the face but it was felt that b > put on <* very high proaauro of air in ordor to offootually stop this would he daogorous, as the pressure might burst through tho loo.su strati into tho bottom of the river, and thor^'for.vory greU oaro was neoes-wy in rogul.it ing tho pressure. That tho o impressed itr did and its way into tho rivor, w s evidenced by tho bubbles which wore continually rising to the surfaoo ab ive tho tunnel, but whether tho aooident ivlue to too great pressure of air or to tho river pjrcol-tting through (ho loose strata »nd gradually inking a holo through which the fatal iu«h followed ia not known. The bodies were nob reovored until M-nday night. To fill the h.>lo mule in the bed of tho river bags of cUy had t<> be sunk and phoed in position by ,i diver, .md a layer of eirth placed on tin top. Pumping oporotious werj cotnmencod in tho tunnel as soon as it wih ascertained tint the gap was fillod up and at eight o'clock on Monday night tho contractor, with sever il men, wont brfloir, and it wa« decided to expjdito the drainago of tho face by unscrening a valvo at tha bottom of the tunnel. Tho water rushed in at such a rapid rate that tha scc•ionofthe tunnol in which tho roscuo party stood was flooded thigh-deop. Fearing that an o«cape of air from tho face might lo.d to a fmthcr collapse, tho searchers entered tho air lock, closed th > doo", turned on the taps, and soon equalised the water in the two chambers. Tho door leading into th i air faco was then opened, and the soarchora saw before them the bodies of fivo of tho mon, lying as if asleep, whilst tho body of the sixth victim hung suspended on tho pressuro gaugo on tho air pipo. The faces of tho dead were not distorted or injured in any way, an J it is supposed that they had a speedy death from drowning — Dunodiu Star's Melbourne corresponJent.