FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1646, 13 October 1887, Page 1

FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.

Auckland, Oct. 10. A melancholy boat accident took place on Saturday night at Hobaonville, on the upper re"fh of the harbor. Two men nimed Auxuuder Lynch and Nicholas Hand, with a womau named Sarah Thornton, had just left HobaonviDe wharf, vthen the boat capsize. Lynch and Hand, who were both good swimmers, got the woman to grasp the upturned boat, and by their united efforts righted it. Thoy got into it, but had no sooner doDo ?o than it again upset. A second endeavor to right it was successful, and Thornton was placed in the boat, which immediataly turned over for the third time. The men then decided to mske for the shore, about sixty yards distant, and started swimming towards it, supporting the woman between them. When half the distance to the shore had been traversed, Lynch suddenly gave the woman a shove towards Hand, and throwing up his hands disappeared. Hand, who wis much exhausted, Btruggled on with the woman for some distance further, but she slipped from his grasp and sank at once. He then struck out for the shore, which he just managed to reach quite prostrated. A negro, named Williams, made an unsuccessful effort to rescue the others by awimming from shore. Two young men named McLeod also put off in a boat, but only in time to recover the woman's body. The parties are all well-known res : dents of Auckland. The wo'nan had just been liberated from gao', and with the men left Auck'and in a sailing v«*sel on Saturday afternoon, intending to go to Riverhead. It is stated that they had a supp'y of liquor on board, and the fatal endiog of the trip is atributed to anxiety to save a bottle of gin from sinking. Thornton's body has beer brought to Auckland, and an inquest was held this afternoon. Lycch's body hns not been recovare'l.