TUNNEL FATALITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 July 1922, Page 5

TUNNEL FATALITY.

GAS FUMES KILL MEN. THE TRAGEDY AT MANGAHAO. EVIDENCE AT THE INQUIRY. FORMAL VERDICT RETURNED. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Shannon, July 13. The inquiry into the Mangahao tragedy, by which seven men lost their lives on July 3, was resumed to-day before the Coroner. Mr. A. Fraser. Inspector McKinnon, conducted the proceedings .for the police, Mr. C. A. Loughnan appeared for the Public Works Department, Mr. Simpson for Mrs. Maxwell, widow of one of the victims, Mr. Bergen for the relatives of Bernard Butler, and Mr. C. Grayndler for the New Zealand Workers’ Union. Mr. Furkert, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, was also present. John Hurrell, assistant engineer, said he became aware of the fatality at 1.45 on the morning of July 3. He dressed and went to the sub-station, where the men who had been brought out were lying. Resuscitation was being tried. Witness went into the tunnel about five chains and felt the fumes and gas. and knew it would be useless to risk any more lives. When he arrived at the tunnel he saw the fan was not working. When he came out of the tunnel he saw arrangements being made to start the .fan as soon as possible. From the time he arrived till the fan started was 45 minutes. The electric fan was run by power from the bottom camp at Mangaore. During the weekend stop at 8 o’clock on Saturday nights when the whole working of • the tunnel stopped, except the pumping, he had never heard complaints about the ventilation.

To. Mr. Simpson, witness said that about 6.45 on Sunday evening the large kerosene engine in the tunnel stopped working. The overseer had informed him after the accident. To Mr. Bergin, witness stated that he heard before that, some men had headaches when working in the tunnel. Cross-examined further, witness said it had been the custom for nine months to start the engines on Sunday to cope with the exhaust and the water, so that the men could start work at midnight. He had been fold earlier on Sunday evening that the kerosene engine had stopped and that a man had been sent to tell the men to come out and start the fan before going back. The system for ventilation was an electric fan" operated at the mouth of the tunnel. The fan was sufficient to carry all the fumes that went into the ventilation pipe. It drew 4000 ft. of air a minute. The discharge of the gas engine would be negligible in this 4000. feet. Herbert Edward Kinzett, tunnel foreman. gave evidence that when he went on about midnight he was told something was wrong. He went into the tunnel and met Triggs coming out, who I said a lot of men had been gassed inside. Witness went on and found F. Birss lying unconscious and further on Miller, one of the Grahams, and Birss junior. Miller and Graham appeared dead. The rescue party arrived wit!) a truck, and Triggs collapsed and the others had to retreat. Witness got one body on the truck, and was endeavoring to get another one when he collapsed. He knew nothing more till he recovered in the canteen afterwards. To the Coroner: He had known of men having headaches in the tunnel before. but none had been carried out.

FURTHER EVIDENCE. CONDITIONS IN THE TUNNEL. FANS NOT WORKING. Shannon, Last Night. The inquiry into the Mangahao fatality was continued this afternoon. Arthur Charles Trigg, a compressor attendant at Arapeti, said power was on when he went to work at 7 p.m. on the day of the tragedy. Shortly afterwards the power station informed him they were going to close down, but not for long. At 8.20 Butler entered the station and departed in the tunnel. An hour later Maxwell told witness he was going to the tunnel to find out how the pumps were working. As at ten o’clock Maxwell had not returned, witness went to the mouth of the tunnel, and as he could see no lights he became uneasy. He went back to the sub-station, but being still uneasy, he went into the tunnel and there met Birss junior and the two Grahams, and he expressed apprehension as to Maxwell and Butler.

The three men said they would go and see, and at the same time ascertain the depth of water. Witness added that he wished they woqld, as his place was at the sub-station and he had no right in the tunnel at all. At 11.20 the men returned and explained they had gone as far as they could, but could not get in touch with the other two men. Later Miller came along, and on being advised of their fears, entered the tunnel, accompanied by the three men. This was the last witness saw of any of them alive. Witness remained at his post till five minutes to twelve. He then entered the tunnel and came on the first party of men gassed. He gave the alarm, and went back with the rescuers.

Ernest H. Jorth, overseer at Arapeti, said he got to the tunnel at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Maxwell and the others were alongside the auxiliary fan engine, which they started. It stopped owing to air suction valve trouble, and they could not get it going again, owing to losing a nut. Witness told Lankshear, one of the men, to go into the tunnel and tell the men to come out and start the engine before they went in again. Being tired, witness then went home. He was awakened at I a.m. and told men were drowning in the tunnel. He went to the scene and found three men had been brought out. He telephoned to the power-house at Mangaore, and was told the power would be on in a few minutes. He then went into the tunnel, and finding fumes there he did not think it advisable to go farther without the fan. Later he went in with the rescue party.

Cross-examined, he said he was aware or the danger from fumes. It was a direction of his that men were not* to go in singly. He had had previous experience of gas in the tunnel, as an assistant of

witness had become giddy and staggered, and had to be taken out. Witness also bei came giddy. He reported the matter to Miller, who said he would see into it. Witness told Maxwell to run no risk. Butler had instructions prior to the accident not to go into the tunnel unless the fan was working. Counsel: Do you think Maxwell was so attached to his duty that he went in despite the danger? Witness: I have come to that opinion. Witness had never heard of men previously been gassed in the tunnel, only suffering from headaches. He instructed the men to go in pairs, on account of the discomfort of headaches, losing the shift, and the fear of some being overcome, and not frOm fear of gas. Alfred Lankshear said he was sent into the tunnel at 5.30 to tell the men to come out. He did not know whether anything was said about not going back. Butler and Maxwell know the fan was not working. Eric Davis, engine-fitter, said he told Maxwell at seven o’clock that the gas was very thick and a man would not last five minutes. He had never had direct instructions not to go into the tunnel alone. Mate Erceg deposed to feeling the effectsof gas in the tunnel at eight o’clock on Sunday morning. Butler and Lankshear were also suffering from the same cause. John Cherrie, engineman at Mangaore, said the electric fan stopped because it developed a knock. He told Miller he wished to close down, and he was later advised he could do so. He was not informed the auxiliary fan was not working. Alexander Dennie, engineer in charge, said he considered every precaution was taken all along to minimise the danger from gas. He could not comment on the evidence regarding the working of the engines. He had heard no complaints previously of men gassed or headachey. Since the disaster the engine had not. been running and the department proposed to procure an additional engine to do the pumping elec- . trically. It was not proposed to run the tunnel until that was done and no more benzine engines would be used in it.

To Mr. Loughnan (for the Department) : Witness had no reason to suppose Miller expected danger because he requisitioned for a big engine to be installed. Miller never expressed dissatisfaction or anxie-ty about the plant. To Mr. Simpson (for Mrs. A relief engine would have averted the accident. To the Coroner: Had the witness been at Arapeti after the kerosene fan ceased he would have thought it safer to have the benzine engines working, though not for long. A verdict was returned that the seven men came to their deaths by, carbon monoxide poisoning, caused by the exhaust of the benzine engine used in the tunnel, the said tunnel not being, during the afternoon and evening of July 2, well enough ventilated for the men to work in safety.