BOATING FATALITY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 163, 9 January 1914, Page 8

BOATING FATALITY.

COMMKXDAItLK ATTKMIT AT A ItESCUE. By Telegraph.—l'ress Association. [ Auckland Last Nisflit. An inquest on the body of William Sutton, a postal employee, IS years old, | who was a victim of a boating acci- ! dent at liirUdale on .Sunday afternoon, was concluded by Mr D. A. Sutherland, coroner, this morning. George Moslem, aged 14, stated that about 2 p.m. on Sunday he left Barclay's Bay. liirkdale, with four others, including deceased, in a small dinghy, with llie object of reaching a launch which wa.s moored some distance out. The water was calm at first, but when they were within about, four yards of the launch a sea came aboard and swamped (lie dinghy. All jumned ovcrj board, and Sutton, who could not swim, | seized Veart, the only adult member of 1 the party, round the neck. Veart tried ! for about live minutes to get a proper I life-saving grip on deceased, who. how- [ ever, would not let go his hold on the neck of the would-be rescuer, wlio was getting into difficulties himself. Witness saw Veart take, deceased by the throat, in order to make him temporarily helpless. Deceased, however, sank at once, and did not rise again, and ! Veart, who was quite exhausted, managed to cling to the dinghy til! a boat rescued him. Witness was too poor a swimmer to give any assistance, but he managed to fret aboard the laune'i. There were three small boys on th; launch at the time, but none of them coui'' assist, Be coroner returned a verdict of accidental drowning, and remarked that Veart was to be commended for Tiia effOVt3 attempting to rescue the de- •; ceased,