FIVE PEOPLE KILLED.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 137, 11 June 1926, Page 7

FIVE PEOPLE KILLED.

THIRTY OTHERS INJURED, j WOODEN VIADUCT COLLAPSES. i yS.VF. RAILWAY TRAGEDY. ' CRASH INTO RAVINE. TEBRIBLE SCENES OP ' SUFFERING, j y { (By Ca&e. — -J.s.=o<?ia.tion.—Copjrlgiic.) c t ■ Received 10 a.m. , ) j SYDNEY, this day. Owiri:: to the collapse °f a wooden viaduct He-ween Toear and Abprdeen. about I'll mi!-= north of >ydney. the Brisbane express, which left Sydney yesterday afternoon, derailed before ,' midnieht. Five pas.-enger* were killed and over . thirty injured. some of them critically. Medical aid was sent from Scome and Mnswel!br<">ok. Those of the injured whn wero able to b<? nrnwd were sent to hospital in . those towns. . ! Details are at present very meagre. The doad are:— ; MISS B. DALZIELL. of Toowoomba. Queensland. MSS. BENNETT, of Mosman, Sydney. ; FYHEAN MONSOTTR. of Syria. A man named WHITE, of Queensland. ■ And an unidentified man. Those who are critically injured, are: — WARD MORGAN, an actor, who had both legs broken. MRS. ALICE NTCHOLLS. of Manly. The Queensland train consisted of two engines, a van. and seven carriages. There were 1-13 passensers aboard. WOODEN VIADUCT COLLAPSES. The official statement shows that the leading ensine an.l four carriages went off the line. The assisting engine toppled on its side. The accident was caused by three spans of the wooden viaduct collapsing when the train was pasting , over it. Tne viaduct crn-se? a ravine 25 feet deep. The fir-t ensine crossed safely, but the viaduct collapsed under the second ensrine and the first carriage. The ensine crashed into the ravine, followed by two carriages. ONE ENGINE KEEPS TRACK. It was fortunate that the first engine and the third carriage kept the track, thus preventing further wreckage and | additional casualties. The viaduct is within a short distance of the Hunter River. Owing to the darkness the work of rescuing the injured proved to be very | difficult. Searching of the debris has ta be suspended for some time. AWAITING THE DAWN. After one o'clock this morning the rescue parties made camp fires and awaited the dawn. Passengers travelling in the secondclass carriase. which was. next to the enaine. appear to have suffered the most. The carriaee was spilt in two. one half j still standing, the other overturned. I Most of the dead were found in this ! carriage. The fourth carriage was tilted down through the viaduct. Appalling scenes were witnessed after the disaster. Flares, motor car headHghts. and other methods of illumination u-pn> used to throw light on the wreckage. THE BADLY INJURED Some of the people were so seriously injured that they could not be moved from the spot where they lay. Those less seriously injured after treatment at hospital were accommodated in private houses. The permanent way wa= torn and twisted. The driver and fireman of the second engine had remarkable escapes. Both were buried beneath the coal when the engine overturned. The fireman suffered a broken jaw and the driver minor injuries and shock. KATJA COMPANY ON BOARD. Among the passonjprs in the wrecked train were J. C. Williamson's "Katja the Dancer" company of between thirty and forty member^. Ward Morsan was the only one seriously injured. Several Others, including Miss Marie Burke, the leading lady, were slightly injured or are suffering from shock. Many passengers were a-leep at the time of thp accident. Tn consequence <'■: the darkness am! the completeness of the wreck, it was hours after tho nmash before rhe victimWere recovered from the wreckage. KILLED TO SEVEN. The iatest official message at four o'clock this morning gives the number of killed at -even, but it is expected that the casualty roll will be increased when all the victims are extricated. Unofficial messages state that there were ci2 1 .: * killed.-—(A. and X.Z.I