MARVELLOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 November 1920, Page 6

MARVELLOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH.

WHARE HURLED OVER CLIFF. DAM BURSTS IN A STORM. Full particulars of the unenviable experience of two young men named MitcheU and M'Donald, during the storm at Patea, have been received from Patea. and they almost read like a story out of a book of adventure. That they escaped death is nothing short'of miraculous.

During Tuesday's heavy rain the dam in connection with the Patea hydroelectric scheme gave way. The two young men had just sat down to tea when they suddenly became aware of a large volume of water pouring over the roof and sides of the whare in which they were sitting. Mitchell Rays that he had a plate on his knee at the time, and to his horror and amazement he found the building commencing to rock, and gradually slip towards the edge ot the cliff on which the whare stood. He rushed to the window and endeavoured to escape through it, but at that moment the whare must have been carried over the cliff, for the next thing he remembers is that he was lying on the sand below with the waves of the sea dashing over him. At that time he had on a pair of pants and a shirt. As lie was sucked out to sea his pants became entangled around his feet, making swimming impossible. Fortunately, the next wave washed him ashore again and he lay for some time unconscious. M'Donald, his companion, who had toppled over the cliff in the whare, and had been badly shaken and bruised, managed to scramble out, and on seeing Mitchell's apparently lifeless form dragged it above high water. Mitchell, at this time was clad only in a shirt. Shortly afterwards he regained consciousness.

The sides of the cliff are perpendicular, but an active person can scramble up under ordinary circumstances. The two young men, however, were badly battered, and each had lost the use o'f an arm, so that it was impossible for them to make an ascent of the clrff. They had consequently to remain on the small sandy inlet in drenching rain, with the waves dashing over them from time to time. After some two and a half hours in this predicament, they began to lose hope, and fully anticipated being washed out to sea and drowned. Suddenly they heard a shout, and on looking up saw Mr. Bason at the top of the cliff. He immediately told them to hang on whilst he went for a ladder, which, after a short hunt, he found. It was too short, however, so with the aid of some telephone wire he managed to fasten a couple of poles to it and. let himself down the' cliff. On reaching' the bottom he found that before he could reach the two stranded young fellows he would have to wade across a gigantic hole nearly Oft. deep, which the water from the burst dam had made. Not without some difficulty, he managed to get first one, and then the other, across the waterhole, and up the cliff. On arrival at the top he lit a. fire and after, seeing' that the young men had got some warmth into their bodies he went to the nearest house, about a mile away, where he obtained assistance and some clothing. He then brought the injured men into town. On arrival at Patea Hospital it was found that Mitchell's right arm was dislocated, whilst M'Donald's arm was also badly injured.

The two men look upon their escape from death as little short of miraculous, for the narrow strip of beach on to which the whare toppled from tiie side of the cliff is only a few feci square and is under water at high tide, the waves dashing with great violence against the sides of the clill'. Both speak in terms of the highest praise of tlie work carried out by Mr. Bason in rescuing them, as he had a wade through water up to his chin to reach them. Mitchell also stated that he would have been washed out to sea and drowned when lying unconscious on th* sand had not M'Donald, injured as he was, pulled him to a place of safotv.