GHASTLY DEATH

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 29, 26 September 1931, Page 3

GHASTLY DEATH

CRUSHED BY LOGS MAORI MILL WORKER KILLED AT HONGI'S TRACK HALF BODY PULPED With half his body crushed to pulp between the ponderous weight of two heavy logs, a Maori mill-worker, Keepu Tepiki, usually known as Piki Thomas, aged 45 years, met a ghastly death when working on the shores of Lake Rotoiti at Hongi's Track shortly after noon yesterday. Thomas was caught by a white pine log which was being swung off a stack on to a barge in the lake and before the eyes of his horrified companions and his son who was also a member of the gang, suffered the most terrible injuries. Reduced to Pulp The unfortunate man was immediately extricated and rushed across the lake by launch in an endeavour to reach the settlement at Mourea, but he succumbed to his injuries be-

fore half of the distance had been traversed. It is stated that the whole of the lower part of his body was reduced to a pulp by the crushing weight of the great logs. Tepiki was one of a party of five Maoris who were engaged in sorting a stack of logs beside the lake, and lf^iding a barge which was alongside. The logs were made up of white pine and rimu, and the gang of men was engaged in separating the two timbers. Tepiki was acting as foreman of the gang. Crushed Between Logs A large white pine log had just been partially raised from the stack by means of a winch in the barge, when the rimu stack on which it was resting began to move and the log rolled back, catching Tepiki at the waist and crushing him against another log. Apparently the log had been rested for a minute in order to | move the sling from one end to the centre, when the chocks underneath became dislodged and pfrecipitated the accident. In order to extricate the unfortunate man, the log was raised with the greatest care, and as soon as he was placed aboard the launch, all speed was made for Mourea. He was unable to survive the journey, however, and died when the launch was half an hour out. Life Extinct Upon arrival at the settlement, the body was taken to the Maori meeting house and police and medical aid was immediately summoned from Rotorua. On receipt of the message, Dr. S. II. Hay and Constable Brown immediately left by car but on arj rival, the doctor could only pronounce life extinct. j Tragic Feature A tragic feature of this terrible ac- | cident was that the only son of the de1 ceased was a member of the gang and I saw his father crushed to death be- ! fore his eyes. The accident took from j young Tepiki his only surviving parI ent and left him to provide both for | his own wife and his sister. The mother died many years ago. The | deceased was one of the oldest hands ■ at the Rotoiti timber mill where he had been employed for the past seven years. He was very well known in the district and a tangi is to be held at Mourea by his relatives and 'friends.