SERIOUSLY INJURED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 231, 13 July 1935, Page 6

SERIOUSLY INJURED

FOUR VICTIMS OF EXPLOSION. GELIGNITE IN AN OVEN. ePor Press Association.) > FEILDING, July 12.

The injuries sustained by the’victims of the explosion of gelignite in the oven of a hours on the Halcombe 1 - Stanway Road this morning, are as follow: Mr Frank Cowdrey, fractured right arm, fractured skull, burns on the face, and shock. Condition very serious. . Mrs Cowdrey, burns on the face, arms, right leg and shock. Condition serious. Maurice Cowdrey, burns, severe wound 'on the elbow, abrasions, and shock. Condition serious. Nita Cowdrey, burns on the abdomen, serious. Beverley Cowdrey, burns on the back, and shoulder, and shock. Condition fair. Ray Davies, shock and abrasions. Condition fair. Edward Robinson, wounds on the forehead, left wrist, and left leg. Condition fair. When the stove exploded the family was peppered with small pieces of iron like shrapnel, which caused most of the injuries. It was Cowdrey’s custom to warm gelignite. He was a frequent user of explosives for stumping purposes. Apparently the explosion was caused through closing the oven door with the gelignite inside. When the explosion occurred Cowdrey was sitting at the end of the table nearest the stove. The chimney was blown to bits, the roof of the house blown off, the walls blown outward, and the whole place wrecked. The table was shattered and turned over on the family.