The Railway Smash

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 10, 30 May 1914, Page 5

The Railway Smash

>■ GOOD PROGRESS OF INJURED PASSENGERS. ALLEGED LACK OF PROPER TOOLS. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. , 'No permanent physical injury is likely to be ,suffered by any of the passengers who survived the destruction of the • sleeping car m the disaster at Whanga- , tnnrino on Wednesday morning. Reports of satisfactory progress were given this evening in regard to all of them by their medical attendants. The doctors consider that in no ease is there any fear of the nervous shock having any sustained effect. The condition of Mr. F. S. Goldingham, of Palmerston North, was so much improved to-day that he will be able to leave his bed to-morrow. He is rapidly recovering from shock and from : the injuries which Jie received through , being driven through the partition wall, - The extensive bruising received by Mr. H. A. Fox, of Wellington, is still ■ very painful. 'The dislocation of his , toe was reduced on Thursday, and he i is now making good progress, though ; he will probably be incapacitated for some weeks. „ Some of the other passengers who ( escaped physical injury are still suffer- < ing from shock, and are under medical 3 care. jj The complaints made regarding the lack of tools available when the work c of extricating the injured passengers was undertaken were criticised by Mr. " R. W. MeVilly, Chief Clerk of the Department, in an interview reported yes- y terday. To the statement that two 0 crow-bars were procurable, Mr. MeVilly replied that in the guard's van of each s train there should have been the usual p equipment of tools. - h Attention was drawn by one of the passengers to-day to -the 'fact that the F van of the foods train in which Mr. G MeVilly stated one set of tools could a have been found was smashed with the other vehicles by the collision, so that it was highly probable that the tools were either buried in the debris or scattered so that search for them in the darkness would have been fruitless. Even had the full equipment of tools from the vans of both trains been secured, there would have been only two crowbars and two axes, which would not have been of any effective value in breaking asunder the wrecked por- 0: tions of the two cars. The "eprogs," b "scotches" and other things' mentioned £ by Mr. MeVilly were of no value for the work that had to be done. c<