TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

TRAIN BLOWN OVER THE RIMUTAKA. Shortly after 11 ©'clock this morning the appalling news was received in town of the most dreadful railway accident which has yet occurred on any railway in this oolony. Unhappily, too, it has happened on the Wei* lington railway, and as we write the fate of a number of Wellington people is still nncertain. Briefly the facts Btand thus :— A whole passenger train has been blown bodily over a precipice on the Rimutaka. Up to 1 o'clock this afternoon only the most meagre information had been rec.-ived of thi9 terrible disaster, but from the short formal telegram received by the Minister for Public Works we gather the following particulars :— The train leaving Greytown at 8.30 this morning, started in due course, and proceeded without mishap to Cross* Creek, the station at the foot of the Rimutaka Incline, where the ordinary locamotive is detached, and one of the Fell engines put on to push the train up the 2J miles of 1 in 15 ascent to the Summit. The plan now adopted is for the luggage van and passenger carriages to be placed in front ; then the Fell engine ; ne*t any goods waggons there may be ; and lastly ? the Fell brake-van, which works on the middle rail. In this case it is not known whether there were any goods waggons, but there were two passenger carriages and a luggage van in front, the engine in the middle, and the Fell brake-van bringing up the rear, as usual. It is necessary to bear these details in mind to understand the nature of the mishap. The train started on its laborious ascent up the steep gradient, and had travelled as far as a part of the line generally known as " Siberia," from the piercingly cold blasts of wind which seem almost constantly to sweep down the mountain gullie9 which converge at that point. Here a strong N.W. gale was found to be blowing across the track, and suddenly a terrific gust struck the train. The consequences were most disastrous The two passenger carriages, which are stated to have oeen full of passengers, and also the luggage van, were hurled bodily off the line and over the edge of the precipice, which at that point is nearly 100 feet in depth. The three vehicles fell with a fearful crash to the bottom, and were seen lying, a wreck of smashed timber and ironwork, at the bottom of this fearful deolivity. Fortunately the couplings broke, and liberated the falling train, otherwise the engine and' brake-van must have followed, and then hardly a sonl might have escaped to tell the tale or seek assistance. As it happened, the engine remained on the rails, and the driver and fireman stayed to render what aid they could to the wonnded, while the brake-van, being uncoupled, ran down the incline by its own momentum, under the charge of the guard, to Cross' Creek, whore a hasty telegram was sent to the General Manager, reporting the disaster, and asking for immediate assistance. A special train was iustantly got ready, aud messongers despatched in all directions for surgeons. The " special " left at 11.30, consisting of an engine, carriage, and brake-van, taking Mr. Lawson, Commissioner of Railways, Mr. Ashci - oft, General Manager, and Drs. Diver, Gillon, Tripe, and Kesteven. It was expected to reach the scene of the disaster by 1 o'clock.