THE DEATH TUNNEL.

Otaki Mail, 5 July 1922, Page 3

THE DEATH TUNNEL.

COMPLETE STORY OP MANUAKAO TRAGEDY. HOW HEROES 8188. The- terrible disaster at .Una Arapeti Camp early, on Monday morning completely overwhelmed the Magahao hydro-electric works in the toll oi me I exacted, and, indeed, chocked ihe whole of the Dominion, as tlie calamity it the worst, ihat has taken place j in tunnelling work in this uoutry for a period ol 17 or 18 years. The derails oi ihe ujagedy show that on Sunday evening the only man on j shift In No. •£ tunnel was the pump attendant, Mr B. Butler, it being [ necessary to keep the pomps working I to clear the tunnel ol water making | ii. way through the workings. Dur- , iiig lb* evening the tunnel loreinan, Mr A. b". Maxwell, went up to the ta.ee, apparently to see that everything was all right lor the shift coining on at midnight. A breakdown in the power station at Mangaore, or No. i camp on the Shannon side, throw the electric lans in the Arapeti tunnel out of gear, and the fumes from the oil engine working the pumps accumulated in the workings and created the deadly carbon monoxide and dioxide gasses. The pumping plant and engine are situated 27 chains in : from the entrance. The presence ol 1 the tatal gas must have been detect-1 ed by both Maxwell and Butler, who | had traversed four chains towards the tunnel month, when they col- I lapsed. !

The men on duty at the sub-station at the Arapeti Camp became uneasy at the prolonged absence oi their two comrades, and three ul the men, Messrs. P. and P. Graham, and W. LSirss went- down to the tunnel to see what was wrong. They went in -0 chains but could gel no further tawing to the presence c>r gas. There was also o. large quantity of water on the tunnel lloorj, and they donned gum boots and essayed another attempt to penetrate further. Ml! MILLLTt JOINS PARTY. At tliis stage the little party oi three were joined by Mr W. B. Miller, the engineer in charge at Arapeti. and Mr !•'. Birss. a tunueller. The live men then entered on what proved lo be a. forlorn hope, for not a man returned alive. They struggled on for neatly "M chains, where- they were found by later rescuing parties, being still about three chains away from Maxwell and Butler, whose bodies wine recovered later. FIRST NEWS Oh TRAGEDY.

The Jirst news ol the tragedy was made known by Mr C. Trigg, who was also ou duty at the sub-station. As soon as he was relieved about midnight lie made his way to the tunnel, and seeing no sign ol his mates, entered the tuunei mouth. He fought his way in until he reached the that lour ol his comrades, who were lying in (he tunnel. He found he could do nothing for them, and only struggled out himself to fresh air and safety. Alter recovering he gave the alarm. TUB WHOLE CAMP ItOUSLD.

The dread news ul what hud occurred spread life wiidfire through the camp, and soon men were rushing from all quarters to assist in the rescue. The fumes were now very .leiise. and it was advised that only the most experienced men were to be permftted to undertake the rescue ol the bodies. There was no lack ot volunteers, however, and offers of workers came from all sides. GALLANT RESCUE WORK. 'lhe rirst party formed consisted ol A. and J. Qumlan, J- Sinclair, T. o'ilalloian, H. B. Kinzett and C. ; Trigg. The fir.t body they recovered ! was that of F. Birss, whi*h they placed *n a truck, and going a chain; further found Mr Miller, Birss jun., and F. Graham. The rescuers got Mr Miller's body partly on to a truck when they got the fumes. J. Quinlan was overcome and only staggered out, whilst T. OTlallagan collapsed on the line and was got out by J. Sinclair f Another party was got together, including S. Nash. L. Madden, J. Shaw, .1. Olson and G. McSaveney. They succeeded in getting the bodies ol Messrs. Miller, Birss jun., liirss sen., and P. Graham on the truck and rushed them out, picking up Hinzett on the way. The latter had collapsed when apparently attempting another entry. Trigg was also found incapacitated and was carried out by McSeveney. Both Kinzett and Trigg were found to be in a bad way after their heroic exertions ,and had to be remove for medical attention. air fi. Brown, one of the rescuers, performed a particularly fine piece ol work, lie came across Kinzett lying in the tunnel and got the unconscious man on his back, when lus. light went ou:. Putting down his burden he re-lit his lamp and struggled on, when the bottom of the lamp dropped out into the water, but Brown went on in the dark and got his man out safely.

LAST THREE BODIES UNCOVERED. , At 1.45 a.m. the electric fan was restarted, and at 2.10 the third party ] under Overseer Hjortu .started in. They sent out the remaining bodies, that of P. Graham being recovered . first, and then those of Maxwell and' Butler. The two latter were found together the greatest distance in the tunnel. The rescuers, as the fatal fumes were now being drawn out, were able to follow in safety as me tunnel cleared. The ]a r x rescue took place at "30. When Mr Maxwell's body was recovered i' was found he had collapsed and fallen on his lamp or some material that kept him clear of the water. The lamp, however, continued to burn under the body, causing some twrible w«unds. Mercifully he was

spared the agony, as at this time h« would be beyond sense of iselmg. Mr Dinnie, Engineer-in-chief, and Mr DaVis, of the engineering staff at No. 1 camp, '■ lost no tiftie in getting en -he scene, and a medica.l practitioner fropa Shiaaon also arrived Jo Kbat*¥.« assistance- s%s pos>

sible. RESUSCITATION EFFORTS FAIL. The only man who appcar.ed to show signs of life after the rescue was F. Birss, but although artiticiai 1 respiration was tried for an hour and - a-half on all the unfortunate men, it | was unsuccessful ,and the tragic lact that the disaster had claimed all seven victims forced itself upon the un- ! happy assemblage. \\ lien resuscitation commenced Mr E. i'inla.vson, who is experienced in this work, took charge of the operations and was instrumental in bringing Kinzett and Trigg round so quickly. Mr Finlayson continued with relaysof ready helpers on the bodies of the other men until his experienced eyes could see that their efforts' wer« vain. Mr Finlayson paid a tribute to his fellow workers, who, he said, did wonderful work. "It was glorious to sew the way tits men toiled lor the lives of their comrades in the lace ol hopeless odds."

REfcIUVAB OF Tll"i BUBIBS. ill liie mealiiime, r.rr >-.. \\ am, joeai stere.ur,) ua .ne i..u.cA., ciiiu r.icsSiS. c. i'nnajion arid i'. Meuill, slreleiier parlies, ana nuu i.io wsliins removed to the i..m.c...v. nail, where iue oodies were reverently prcpuied lor burial, uining ,iesterday an the works were cios«u uown, and the niujers came m from all quarters to pay their last respects lo tueir iormer coinraues. ine aiyrn oi tne seven corpses was a heartrending one, and Drought home the grim penalties man pays in the struggle lor the betterment of Ins conaiitons.

TWO iViBN SENT To HOSPITAL. Alter being medically examined, both Kui/.ett and liigg weie loutid to be suffering severely irom the enects oi the poisonous gas, and were tiwpatched to Ihe Fahner-ston North .Hospital. Both are single man, ihe 'asinawied being a recent urinal I rum England. liiL BLATIJ BOLL. Mr .Miller been on the works lur two years and three months, practically from the commencement oi the niiderlUHing, and was a iuokL popular officer, as well as one ol the 'highest ability, tie came from Uunedin, and was tingle.

Mr F. Uirss was a tunueller from Arthur's Pass, where he had long been engaged in ihe big undertaking which in a lew months will be brought to fruition by the trains running through the big tunnel, and connecting Canterbury with the West Coast. He had been but, tlu'ee mouths at Arapeti, his wife and family being still in the South Island. Mr W. Birss is a son, and also hails from Arthur's Pass, coming io Aiapeti wilu Ijis lather three months ago. Mr 'V. Graham <vas another Arthur's Pass tunneller, with three month's service at Arapeti. Bis family are still residing at the t'a-*.

Mr F. Graham was a brother ol Mi Mr P. Graham, and was a lunueller from the Hastings district. His lauiily reside there. The tunnel loreinan, Mr A. E. Maxwell, was a well known Wanganui resident, and was the contractor lor Durlc's Hill iitt in that town, besides being responsible for several crthe/ big works there. He leaves a wile and family o< live. Mr li. Butler wa. a young man ol only 20 year?, a son of Mis W. Butler, of Shannon, arid was popularty known thr-aughout the district. A BJEADEY GAS. ihe death agent thai overtook the umoitunate victims was a mixture ol carbon monoxide and dioxide, produced by the luuies Bum the oil engine working the pumps. This engine is only worked during the weekends, when the main power-produc-ing plant is not used. Tins gas takes instant effect, and anyone unfortunate enough io inhale it is liable *o wjllapse a', once. This was evident iitom the posture ol the bodies Ul the tunnel. The gas is »i *uch a penetrating nature that the clothes oi the men reeked with it, an,d is attempting to remove the clothes, several ol thy (helpers "were overcome temporarily, and lor hours afterwards its presence could still be detectedBeing heavier than air when it cools, the gas gradually setUeb down io the farth. H penetrated every nook and cranny in the- tunnel, and killed large numbers of rats ▼■■lnch were harbouring there, the bodies floating oui in the drainage from the wjnuel yesterday. When the ventilation fans were restarted during the rescue "tori; una the foul gas was forced out through rhe vent pipe at the tuumel moath. it streamed out in dark masses like a smoke cloud frojn a locomotive. This continued for route time üßiil m; , tunnel was cleared,

A touching sight on Monday were . the groups of miners and other workers quietly discussing the disaster at , the camp. What on ordinary days is • a busv, stirring scene, with machinery pounding and workmen meving feusilv about, was instead one With. ,he industrial forces stilled, and ffi j thai fact alone th« VfettW a"»°> l sensed the presence of some unlaw- , ard happening. The tragedy will be , deplored, not only by the unfortunate relatives, but by the country as a whole, that many of our Ingest and finest undertakings often demand a toll in human lite. A bright spot m the dark cloud, however, is Ae heroic and self-sacrificing conduct a! the feiiow-werkers of the viotims ani the m»n of Arapetl in jflie dark hours ot Monday morning Slowed no lack of tke spirit of *vhich heroes are made. BVSMT3 BEFORE THB TBAG*OY. WHY THB VESTILASTOR FAILEDFrom the Arapeti side the tunnel has teen driven m 31 chains. Water pours through the rides and top unceasingly, and it jjb only by unremitting pumping that the .work can be carried on. For this purpose a ben£Coa£iMj£d b& i&axtt page).