OVER SHE GOES!

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 23, 19 April 1927, Page 1

OVER SHE GOES!

BARGE KIRI CAPSIZES ACCIDENT IN HARBOUR LAUNCH DAMAGED Lying easily at her moorings alongside Bryant’s Wharf, where she had been since Saturday morning, the barge Kiri, heavily laden with sand, capsized this morning, suddenly and without warning. The Kiri, which is owned by Mr. A. W. Bryant, is 72ft long, and has a beam of 20ft. It had arrived from the Thames on Saturday with 116yds of sand from the Thames River, and when made fast to the wharf gave no indication of anything untoward being likely to occur. The launch Tawai, also owned by Mr. Bryant, was made fast to the barge and the two boats were lying broadside on. When Mr. Jack Sutherland, a member of the crew retired to bed on the launch last night everything was in order. He was awakened about 5 a.m. by the sound of smashing timber and the rush of sand. Then a heavy swell; the launch shuddered under some terrific blow, heeled over to a dangerous angle, righted herself and began to sway ominously. Mr. Sutherland dashed on to the deck and dived into the sea, and upon coming to the surface, the sleep washed from his eyes, saw the barge keel-up rocking in the sea. He regained the launch and found that the mast of the barge had struck it on the bow and had smashed the skylight and considerably damaged the iron railing around the deck. At the stern of the launch the iron railing, seats and skylight had also been shattered, but fortunately the middle of the launch, containing the bunks and the engine room were not damaged. The barge is valued at £1,500, and Is a well-known vessel plying on the coast. When the barge struck the launch the mast was snapped off near the deck. The full extent of damage will not be known until the vessel has been righted. [See illustrations.]