Explosion of Guncotton.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 32, 10 August 1899, Page 3

Explosion of Guncotton.

Wellington, August 7. , < Word has jast been received of an explosion at Mahanga Bay, near one^ of the harbour fort*. • ' < r A number of men were engaged in removing the old electric light works, which Trer.e to be abandoned, and in i the course of operations had fired' some guucotton in a pit. It exploded preI maturely, killing Sergeant Olive, Corporal Bhck, and Sapper Teague. Sapper Head was badly injured, and is not expected to live., T lie men Were , members of the Torpedo Coips. Olive was a young man, and leaves a wife, ■but no children. Blick was an elderly man, and leaves & wife and three children. Teague was a 'young man, with a wife and one child. Head is a young single mq,n. The bodies ar« being brought to town. > d Head was brought to town, in the launch. Though apparently dead, when picked up, he is not so bad as, was at first thought. The bodies will remain at the fort pending the coro-, ner's decision. The CojftraanSant iatends holding a brief 'o$fil»l inquiry before, making- the, "detail's; , public. Teague was for some .ye&y^&tfttiioited at Auckland. Blick hiW bfcijtj jfrr.the Force twenty-two yefc'rs. , ThisT is ;,^h_e^ second accident of the kin<j r f^%\ffcd£ men were killed and three injafed *ati; Shelly Bay Torpedo Station, byi, guh'-', cottoji •xplosion on March 4th, : JB9l. ■ The other members of .the party engaged at the pit were Captain Falconer, Sergeant- Major Perell and- Sapper Tompkies. Captain Falconer and

Sergeant-Major Perell were standing on a parapet above where the men were working, while Sapper TornpKies was some distance away bringing wire* and detonators. When the charge \rent off, Captain Falconer and Sergeant- Major Perell had % narrow escape. They were standing a .couple of yards from each other, and a huge block of concrete, which had thrown up by the explosion, fell between them. All the victims were a good deal knocked about in the upper parts of the bodies. Teague was thrown fully two hundred yards, and the top of his head was blown off. When picked up Olive was minus an arm.

Aug. 8. An inquest on the victims was held to-day at Mahanga Bay. Colonel Pole Penton, and several other military officers, Inspector Pender and Commissioner Tunbfidge were among those present. Captain Falconer, who was the first witness, gave evidence that the main wires were not connected with the mine, and until such connection took place detonators could not be fired. The fact that the detonators were found intact in the pit this morning, proved that they had not been ,firfd. It was not known by what means the charge could be fired except by contaot with these wires. If a loose detonator had got into the hole the tamper would have exploded it, but witness considered this an absolutely impossible theory. In his long experience ia the use of guncotton, w/tness had never known guncotton to explode in the process of breaking up. Witness was completely nonplussed to ac,count for the accident. The same course had been followed by witness and 'his men hundreds and hundreds of- times without any mishap. The gun-cotton in use was of first class English manufacture, and has been tested several times since its arrival in Wellington. All the men were specially trained, and were in their usual and proper places, Olive being in charge. A spark might have set the "Sqttou alight, but it couli not .have, detonated "it. 1 " ' • • After laaving expert testimony by •Torpedo Gunner Broderick of H.M.B. Mildura, Sergeint- Major Perrell, and [vCol. PolePentonj, the inquest was adjourned for a. week in the hope that Head will have sufficiently recovered "to be able to give evidence. j Colonel Penton will give orders that henceforth gun-cotton shall b& used >damp where possible.