THE OTIRA ACCIDENT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 381, 5 May 1910, Page 5

THE OTIRA ACCIDENT

BKHMER SUCCUMBS. , •, EXToMHED MEX SAFE. By Telegraph —Press Association. Greymoutli, Wednesday. Charles lieemer, oiie of the victims of the Bealev tunnel cai'tstrophe, who Wufi liroiight to (invnioiith yesterday, has just. died from his injuries. He was 35 years of age. lie was pinned between a truck and a beam of timber. Dr. Mcllrearty wa.« more anxious in hi- ca.se than in any other. Three 01 the men, including . ;ird, who was buried in 10 his neck fo,- -everal hours, are progressing favorably. •News from the iValey respecting the two entombed men is highly satisfactory. J'he side tunnel is now within eight feet of tiieir prison. The relieving ,party can hear them distinctly, so they may lie released any time. Christ church, Wednesday. Ihe entombed men in the tunnel report that the rock inside the tunnel is .splitting as a result of shots tired by, the rescue party in the course of excavation in the new drive. PUBLIC WORKS EXGIXEER'S REPORT. DETAILS OF THE CAUSE. Wellington, Last Night. The Public Works Departments resident engineer at Greymoutli reported in detail to-day to the Minister for Public Works upon the tunnel accident. His telegram states that at 8 a.m. the sill of the tunnel was being propped up, as it showed signs of movement. Suddenly it came away, letting down the crown bars for a length on each side, len minutes afterwards the movement proceeded towards the mouth of tho tunnel, letting down the No. 8 length and part of Xo. 7. The subsidence reached the ground level, exposing shingle and loose rubble with verv little rock covering. Over the tunnel arch the country seemed sound when excavatej, and portions -.urnd without timber. Mr. Lewis adds that the timbering consisted of Bealev birch twelve inches square, supported on props of the same size eight feet high. placed at eight-feet centres, three crown bars of twelve-inch timber, three arc!', bars on each side asd nine-feet liars blocked up with stringers. STORY OF THE ACCIDENT. INJURED MKX TELL THEIR STORY. OX THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL. Christehureh, Tuesday. Two of the men injured in the tunnel accident, James M.Keich (tunnel "boss") and James Shaw (a trucker) arrived in Christehureh by special train at 10.20 last evening. A representative pf the Times, who joined the special train at Springfield, found the injured nun in the guard's van in charge of a comrade (Mr. T. Armstrong). Simv was on a litter on * slings, and McKeich was on a stretcher on a bedding of cfyaff sacks. Tliev .both "'ere verv cheerful, making light of their injuries, their conversation all through 'being of concern for their unfortunate mates. STATEMENT BY THE TUNNEL "BOSS." "The accident happened about 9.15 a.m./' said Mr. McKeich. ,: 1 am the boss of the shift, and had under me at the time <nbout eleven men. We were busy clearing and timbering a portion of the tunnel that had given some trouble on account of the rotten rock and general heavy nature of the soil. This would be about three chains from the mouth and nine chains from the lower lace. Suddenly .there was a grinding noise, and the timber overhead gave way. The rock and gravel poured down, and 1 saw a heav,- jieam flying towards me. It hit me here (jMiinting to his bruised forehead), and I was thrown about lifteen yards. That's all that £ remember." There was something' pathetically heroic in McKeich's next words: "Any way, Jim and I are pretty lucky," he said, as lie lay with an injured head and a broken foot while the train rushed and jolted towards the citv. HEROIC RESCUERS. George Pitts, a Bendigo man. according to McKeich's story, was very unfortunate. He was at breakfast when no heard of the accident, and at once rushed to the scene. There he found that his mate. Claude Bray, was among ' the buried men, and he ,went in to try to save him. Pitts found Brav, whose hack was injured, and got him clear, when lie was himself buried l>v another , fall up to the neck, and was imprisoned among the others. All the morning the earth continued to fall, rendering rescue work well-night impossible. o:ie brave man, whose name the sufferers did noti know, made several attempts to reach his fellows, and succeeded in giving Beard some whisky, but Beard was later 011 buried by another fall.

Slmw. who was suffering intense piin from his broken leg, stated that he ulis anxious only to know that his mates were safe, ile was hit by a beam, which struck MeKeioh. and was thrown clear. •F'K XATl'ltK dl' 1 THE FALL. Ar* who accompanied the injured pien 1o (lie hospital, j.= a itrpenter at the tunnel. He thus described the Mature of the fall: "The earth has caved in riiht from the surface for about two chains, ttnd the workinir is pretty near the top of the hill. There the whole tunnel is Mocked no. Ihe spot being about nine chains from the bottom heading. There is verv soft, ground, known as "greasy back." there. If there are any men in the chamber left between the fall and the face thev will be .safe as long as tho water-pipes are intact. There w;: • a slip at the mouth when the work first; began, but McKeieh ,got his men away safely then, and no one was hurt." The -ountrv. Armstrong remarked, was I 'd and -oft. and was all on the side of (he hill. Tt was verv he ivy and treacherous, and the digging W'Hib 1 she an enormoii- ta-k. There was < ery possibility of the men being saved '>tn death by, the timber ,kee.ping the shintfle off them. Afr. Neil McLean, one of the contractors for the Arthur's Pass tunnel, arrived from Wellington this morning. He was seen bv a Press reporter, find stated, in l'eidv to a question, that he had 110 additional information regarding the accident. Air. McLean went on to liealov sliortlv after his arrival.