TERRIBLE BUILDING DISASTER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 175, 26 July 1893, Page 2

TERRIBLE BUILDING DISASTER.

BREAKING OF A JIB CRANE,

THREE MEN KILLED.

AN UNLUCKY WORK,

Almost every step in the progress of the colossai structure which is being erected for bhe Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York, at the corner of Collins, and Elizabeth streets, Melbourne, says tho " Age " of July 12th, haa been marked by accidenta and disasters as appalling as they have beon extraordinary. Yestorday a freshstepupwardatowardathehighesbatoriea of the edifice was marked by the seemingly inevitable cataatrophe, and it is a coincidence that as each upward move haa been made memorable by accidont, so each succeeding accident has been moro terrible than its predecessor. In the first days of the history of the building a man was killed in quarrying the granite for its walls. When the walls had beon raited 20 feet, a workman named Whannol fell from the masonry and was killed. At the next elevation ihe donkey engine catastrophe killed Rogers, the engine driver, and a pioce of cog wheei, which was projected into the air, sbruck a Mr Ellis in ibs descent, and inflicted such injuries that he died tho next day. Then, aa if to emphasise tho coincidence that at each elevation the magnitude of the fatality was onlarged, yestorday'a misadventure resulted in tho death of three men and the injury of a fourth. Beyond these in> cidents, if anything were wanting to demonstrate" the ill luck that seems to attend tho work, and the fatalities that occur at almost every turn, it could be found in tho details of the grounding of tho Kermnndie. The kotch waa loaded with granite for tho building, and ran ashoro when coming along the const, with the resulb that three of the seamen wero drowned.

To understand how the accident occurred, it must be known that tho lifting of the stone, brick 3 and mortar used in tho building is performed by means of a donkoy engine placed on a platform, which is erected in the scaffolding somo distance above tho walls.

Shortly before 3 o'clock tho men began to work on tho winch, und at 3.20 hud raised tho burdon about midway towards its destination, when the jib, in a momenb, without a premonitory crack or creak of any sort, smashed to pieces. With a thundering crash tho heavy timbor dropped into tho walls of the building, and the jngired portions of the splintered spar were scattered everywhere around. One of tbem struck Frank Pecand, ono of the winchmon, and threw him backwards. Ho made one wild offorb to grasp at Maseon, a fellow workman, to save himself, but he missed hia intonded grip, and only clutching the air, fell headlong to the ground, a distanco of llfi feet. Eye witnesses of tho terrible event state thab he turned two complete somersaults in hia descent, and ho fell to tho ground a formless niasa. He was foarfully shattered. Almost every bone in his body was broken, tho brains lay scattered around, and tho face was bruited and battered out of nil shape. Masson saw I'ecaud fail, and made an effort to save him, but tho effort cost him his life, for he overbalanced and foil too. Tho unfortunn.o man struck tho scaffolding firsb and thon dropped from boam to beam, turning as ho struck each trosh obstacle, until ot ir.su ho landed on tlni mason's floor, 30 feet from wlier* he foil. Ho was not; dead then, and-willing hands «■»■ if:.);* bore him down i,o tho ground and thence to tho hospital. He was admitted atone., but did not sur vive lrng, for beyond tha terrible shock ho had sustained both lop? wore broken in sovoral places, his back was injured, his spine wasdis. ocated, and there were otiierintenia! injuries. Josoph Dallamar.an Italian, who was working at tho opposite handlo of bho winch to that nn which Pocaud ai>d Masaon were engaged, nleo fell, bub no one can toll how. It is surmised by Mi Coutt., tho foreman of the carpenters, who waa standing in front of Dallamar, that he jumped from the platform when he saw whab had befallen the othor men, bub ho was not cortuin of it. Frederick Clarksoti, who was on tho platform whore tho first portion of the traveller had been placed, and was watching tho men at bho winch at work, states that he saw Dallamar fall, but ho could nob etato why or how it was ho had overbalanced. He saw Dallamar strike a projecting plank as he foil and received a sickening wound that laid his back open from tho waisb to the top of the shouldor. As ho reached tho floor, which was 25 feet below, his head waa downward, and he struck the boarda with the back of liis neck. Ho waa quite dead when assistance reached him, his neck boing broken. Robert Gibbins and George Simpson, likewise engagod at the winch, jumped from where they stood to tho bricklayers' platform, a distanco of 12 feeb. Tho former, who was very flurried aa he dropped, landed badly, and sustained aomo slight injury to hia foot, but Simpson, who was more collector!, reached the lauding without any mishap. Alfred Anderson alone of all tho wiuchmen, and Mr Coutts, tho foreman enrpontor, remained at thoir station by tho winch, and thsy of course wore uninjured. Tho others, except Pecnud and Maßson, uncertain as to the truo naturoof the accident and its consequences, evidently lost their heads. Maeson's fearless heroism in attempting to save hia comrade when he himself, perched on a mere shelf a hundred and odd feet from tho earth, was in _uch a hazardous position,ia worthy of the higheat admiration,

Of those killed and injured only one, Josoph Dallamar, aged 40 years, was married, bub it has not yot been ascertained whether he has any children, because his place of residence ia unknown, and the authorities have boen unablo to acquaint his wife of the disaster. It is fortunate, however, thab Dallamar, in common with all the men employed on the building, was insured in the Guardian Accident Insurance Company, and his widow will receive £50.