TWO LIVES LOST

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 272, 16 November 1943, Page 2

TWO LIVES LOST

BLASTING ACCIDENT

STRUCK BY FLYING ROCK

(P- A.) OAMARU, this day. Two men lost their lives as the result of a blasting accident in the Oamaru Harbour Board's quariy yesterday. Both men were struck bv flying rock, which also severely damaged nearby sheds and quarry equipment. The men were:

jt r , Frederick John Maynard, of Farnham Street, Oamaru, married, with three children, employed as an inspector by the Waitaki Electric Power Board. Mr. Allan Mcintosh, of Hull Street, Oamaru, married, with three children, employed by the Harbour Board.

Mr. Maynard was killed instantly, receiving terrible head injuries, and Mr. Mcintosh, whose spine was stated to have been fractured died on the way to the public hospital. The charge, comprising IOUUip 01 explosives, was fired by electricity from a point approximately 150 yards from the quarry, face. Messrs, Maynard and Mcintosh were engaged in the actual operation of firing and, although they were in a slit trench and behind a line of railway trucks, they were struck by flying rock which blew out in almost a straight line. ' . Mr. Maynard, after connecting the power supply for the firing of the shot, as is customary, remained at the firing point to make certain adjustments. Three members of the quarry staff who were sheltering in the cab of a locomotive approximated 100 ft behind the firing point, had a" fortunate escape from injury, several large pieces of rock striking the engine, one of which sheared off the steam valve. 1 It is understood that the faulty nature of rock behind the face of the quarry 1 caused the main force of the charge to be directed outwards, with fatal consequences for the two men -at the firing point. Apart from a coroner's' inquest, there will be a Mines Department inquiry into the cause of the accident.