FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4034, 10 February 1892, Page 3

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT.

Swo Men Blown to Atoms. Anniversary day was ushered in very gloomily this year in Sydney, for no sooner had the day dawned than a frightful itceident happened in the harbour which resulted in twoui"ii being blown to atoms. The particulars to hand are at present very meagre, but from what can be gathered it seems that a boiler exploded on a nightsoil punt, killing two men, Messrs Brown and Brown, of tln> City Iron Works, Pyrraont, are contractors for the removal of nightsoil, and at about G o'clock this morning j the steam launch Midget, captained by Thomas Ciilds, proceeded to Pyrmont to tow the nightsoil punt Catherine Agnes out to sea, On board the punt was a donkey engine which was used for the purposeof pumping the refuse out of tho punt at sea, Everything went well till the barge was abreast of Middle Head, but it was noticed that the men on board the punt had previousy been allowing tho steam in the boiler to blow off, However, when just close to Middle Head the men on board the Midget were startled bv a terrific explosion on tho barge, Captain Childs at once brought bis vessel alongside' the punt, which was fast sinking, and it was run up on the beach between Middle and George's Heads, where she settled down. The punt was very much damaged, and would undoubtedly have sunk had it not been for the quick'actionof the captain of the Midget. Asearch was then instituted for the two men who were on the punt-one as engineer, and tho other as steersman. Nothing could be seen of the ■unforGunate fellows beyond bespattered markß of blood, and small portions of flesh. Information was immediately forwarded to the water police, and Sub* Inspector Hyam at once despatched the steam launch to the scene of the disaster, and the punt was searched for the remains of the men, The result was that a head, trunk, •left foot, one leg, right foot, and remains of the left were found on the Btarboard side of the punt, about 12ft away from the boiler, which had blown away, the surroundings being completely wrecked, In an iron tank about 15ftfrom where tho boiler was, on the port side, was discovered a right thigh, About the same distance rfom the boiler was found a portion of a leg whioh had been blown into an iron water tank used in connection With tho engine, To extricate this member a constable had to procure a hammer and chisel ( and part of the tank had to be cut away before the dismembered portion could be got at, so tightly was it embedded in tho iron, All the pieces of the bodies were gathered together aud conveyed to the North Shore Morgue, Nobody seems to know who.the men were, and information was speedily Bont to their omployers, and a man was sent to view the remains for the purpose of identification. ■ The result was that the head portion and trunk were identified as that of a man named John Northoote, the engineer. Benjamin Tollison was the steersman, It is behoved tho explosion was the result of over-pressure of steam, but tho only persons who could have satisGed the authorities on that point ore the two (lead men,