THE DITTON ACCIDENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 185, 23 December 1912, Page 5

THE DITTON ACCIDENT.

AN INEFFICIENT DRIVER. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. Received 22, 5.5 p.m. London, December 21. The Board of Trade report attributes the Ditton accident to the driver's insufficient knowledge of that section of the line and misleading signals. The engine was insufficiently manned. The fire was caused by the use of gas. Tt recommends that companies use'electricity. A cablegn n from London dated September IS, stated:— The Chester-Liverpool express was derailed at Widnos owing to the engine failing to take iTi" points on a steep incline approaching Ditton. The result was that it tiiv.hed into a masonry bridge spanning the line. The carriages dashed on to the station and collided with the platform. The first two were reduced to matchwood, and the third and fourth were wrecked, and immediately caught fire. An. appalling scene followed. The huge heap of debris was in flames and the passengers were screaming in agony as they slowly roasted to death.

Most of the bodies recovered are mutilated. One man was decapitated, and others had limbs torn off. One woman's face was burned away. The driver was killed. The fireman is alive, but he was pinned to the engine for four hours. Most of the victims were Welsh, and many are unidentifiable. All in the fourth carriage were burned to cinders. Thirteen charred bodies were removed. Two of the injured have died from burns in the hospital. The darkness and the fierceness of the fire rendered rescue difficult. Forty were injured, many seriously.