BURIED ALIVE

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 454, 11 June 1937, Page 4

BURIED ALIVE

. AMAZING ESCAPE . Trapped For An Hour Auckland, June 10. Buried under 20 tons of scoria and trapped In the cabin of bis lurry, Mt Leonard Hunter, of 92, Grafton Road, hud an amazing eadjpe this when a sudden landslide overwhelmed him in a scqrla quarry al Mount Roskill, Two icompanxme, Mesters William Fennesiej . of .138, Vincent Street, City, and H. lugham, of Hirkouhead, were almosi. swepj. their death as the landslide rushed down a steep face. None of the three were seriously injured. The lorry driver, who lay buried for over an hour, diu not suffer even a ctJ. Ftnnessey, who started to slide with the fall and who Wsb pulled cut of the danger line by lug. liam just in time, was struck by some of the fast-falling rubble and, was taken to hospital suffering from shock and abrasions. The accident happened at Hunter's quarry. Mount Eden Road. The lorry had been backed in un. der a solid framework of big iron and wooden stringers. Hunter was sitting in the driver's sebj and Fennessty and Ingham were working on top of the framework loading the lorry. Suddenly a great rush of loose seoria and boulders started to crash down the steep face. One of the men cr<ed a warning. Just «s Fennessey was almost swept off his feet, his woikmate, Ingham, grabbed bim and dragged him out of danger. He probably owes his life to Ingham, for. if he had been cajight in the slide he would have had but a slender chance of escape. With terrific force the scoria crashed through the framework, filled the lorry and wedged itself between the losry and the sides of a narrow chiasm. Then came the delicate task of extricating Hunter. For over an hour I they worked gingerly with hacksaws, crowbars, chisels, pincers, picks and * shovels. OiLdually they made an opening large enough to allow Hunter to wriggle very carefully out. His life had been miraculously savedi by a solid Wooden stringer and a portion of iron frame which held up tons of scoria and prevented it from crushing him.