MINING ACCIDENT AT WAIORONGOMAI.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 222, 1 October 1887, Page 2

MINING ACCIDENT AT WAIORONGOMAI.

An accident of «i most serious nature occJinoil at tho Colonist mine early yf^lt'rday morning, whereby Messrs. Thus. Fi'otf, of Waiorongomai, ami (jreo. Heed, of Te Aioha West, were vi>vy severely injured, through an explosion which took [tlavT. Tho exact eaupo of the explosion is not oloarly understood but tho following me Iho particulars relating to the a. oitliMit. M "»?r3 Scott, Koed, aivl Jnsn Ilii) prooco Ip I lo their work at the Colonist mm 3 yesterday morning as usual and on .irriring at tie mine fir.-t went to tho 3 1 1 1 it * i v . whicli is ail unt'» I just outsi I*j, it lein s ' necessary to sharpen soint' of tho tools. Tliis work Mr Scoit proceeded to carry out, an i had pointed throe picks and tempered one, in the course of whioh he dipped it in a small barrel of water close by, and afterwards stuck it in the floor of the smithy. Th» second pick Scott states he threw into tho barrel of w iter, when an explosion itnme iliately followed, which blew off the roof of the smithy demolished one end, and also blew a hole eighteen inclips deep in the ground right under wore the barrel stoo I, and turned an anvil of about two hnudred weight right round on the block. Tho explosion was heard by (hose at work at the New Find mine, a considerable distance off, and a number of persons were quiokly on the spot, when it was found that although the three men had providentially escaped with their liveSjtwo of them had, however, sustained injurious of a very serious nature. Hill was thrown down, but wonderful to relate, beyond § good shaking got off uninjured. Reed was found to havo received a very bad flesh wound, a little below the thigh joint j a jagged portion of one of the barrel staves having been forced right to tho bone, and into whijh a man's fingers could easily bo thrust, the piece of wood carrying in a piece of the trousers with it, The surface of the wound was also scorched. But what the poor fellow complains of most is a very severe pain in the bowel's, which is so severe as to make him almost forget the leg wound, and it is feared he has received internal injuries of a severe character, but tho nature of which is not yet known, lie was promptly conveyed to Waiorongomai on a stretcher improvised for the occasion by some of tho miners, and put to bed a<- Mr H. H. A lams, where he is receiving every kindness and attention possible from Mr and Mrs Adams ; Mrs Reed being nlso at onco sent for, and remains to nurse him. Scoti was able M'ith assistance to reach his homo without the aid of a stretcher, and was also at once got to bed. His v^orst wound is in the side, just below the shoulder joint, besides he has however received some severe cuts in the legs and is. much bruised all over ; Dr. Copper was promptly in attendance on the injured men and dressed their wounds and isdoing everything possible to relievo their sufferings. As already seated the direct cause of the explosion is a matter of conjecture From what we can learn it appears some of tho men the previous evening thawe 1 several cartridges >f dynamite (close on lib it is thought), for use, and the propar vessel supplied

for this purpose not being- at hand, proceeded to do so by placing the dynamite in an empfy ment tin, andlh'e Inttcr into a 'billy' of hnfc water, which was I then covered down. Th« result being that not only was the dynamite 'thawed' b'lt the inner vos*pl, noh being eloso orered also as it should l>e, tho'stoum caused tho nitro-glycerino to exude from the dynamite, and it is thought some of this droppe.j about on the floor of the smithy, Soverul other theories aro also afloat, one being tliut as the wator which continonsly ruiismto the hinel in which the explosion took plmo i« that which drains the floor oF the dr.ve in thp lower level, glyceiine in s»nnll quantities may from timp to time Imve been thus conveye-l into the b'ifrcl and settled therein, and been cxplo.iud by the concussion of the pick wliieii whs thrown in. Some are of opinion tint owinjf to the manner in which tin? djnumitii whs thawed, a portion of (ho mho-glycerine had, througU the action of the steam exuded from the cartridges into the can used for the occasion, ami ih'iice baeu cmptiiul into the barrel. This accident is still anolh.-r instance ! of tho necessity for thn utmost care and caution boing used when handling explosives conliiiniig such a terrible agent as nitro-glycerine. I