SAD DROWNING ACCIDENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 9015, 28 December 1907, Page 5

SAD DROWNING ACCIDENT.

YOUNG WOMAN LOSES HER

LIFE

ATTEMPTING TO SAVE A LAD.

A sad drowning accident occurred' in the Ruamahanga river, yesterday afternoon, in which Hilda Cook, a young woman 18 years of age, and daughter of Mr A. W. J. Cook, of Wadestown, Wellington, lost ber life. Miss Cook arrived in Masterton on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays, and was staying with Mr and Mrs J. Hunter, at Lansdowne. In company with three girls, Lily and Vera Hunter and Madge Gracott, she went bathing yesterday afternoon in a hole in the Ruamahanga river, about half a mile above the Te Ore Ore bridge, at the rear of Mr Hunter's residence. While they were tmis engaged, two young boys. Jack Hunter and Godfrey Clapcott, came up stream and commenced to swim about at the bottom end of the hole in which the girls wsre swimming. The hole is about 100 yards long. Clapcott was using swimming wings, and by some means these came off and floated away to the middle of the stream. He set out to recover the wings, and getting out of his depth commenced to sink. Miss Cook, noticing the lad's plight, essayed to save him, but as, she was unable to swim, she sank as soon as she got beyond her depth, and was drowned in about eight feet of water. Fortunately the boy Clapcott was saved by his youthful comrade, Hunter, and the terrified party, as soon as the young woman did not reappear above the water, left to obtain assistance. They brought back a man named E. Lett, Who saw the body of the girl through the clear water on the Bottom of the river. Being unable to swim he could do nothing to recover the body. The police were sent for, and Constable Townsend, by diving, recovered the body about three quarters of an hour after the sad occurrence. Attempts to restore.animation proved unavailing, and the body was removed to Mr Hunter's residence. Dr. Hosking, who just previously examined the body, pronounced life to be extinct.

An inquest will be held to-day