ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9919, 27 December 1897, Page 6

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

Yesterday evening the police received news that another fatal accident had occurred at Gebbie's Valley. Two young men, George Hanson, aged seventeen years, son of Mr Hugh Hanson of Gebbie's Valley, and another boy named Chas. Pym went out yesterday morning with guns. Hanson hred at a rabbit and misled it. Pym, who was standing a considerable distance behind Hanson, then fired and missed the rabbit, but the charge struck Hanson on the head and blew half his skull off. Pym at once went to the residence of Hanson's parents and informed them of the catastrophe. Mr Hanson, sen-, then went to Lyttelton and informed the police, who telephoned in tlie somewhat meagre news and sent a constable out to make further enquiries. The date of the inquest ha=? not yet been fixed. A seven weeks old baby, named Elsie Frances Woods, died at the residence of her parents, St. Asaph street, at 8.30 o'clock, on Christmas morning. The child had been suffering from a cold for a week previously, and was taken ill at six a.m, and died before Dr. Hunt, who was called in, arrived. An inquest will be held to-day. At Sumner yesterday, two young men, Fiedk. J. Downing and Percy Harold Comerford, were bathing, and the latter was drowned. The two had been camping out at Sumner, and went in the early morning for a bathe, Downing states that they launched their boat about 6.40 a.m., or at high water, and after pushing her out about twenty-five yards dropped anchor in about eight or ten feet of water. He dived off the boat and Comerford followed him. The latter swam a few strokes and then seized hold of Downing, with bis arms round Downing's neck and his legs round Downing's body. They both went to the bottom and suddenly the deceased let Downing go and he rose to the surface. As soon as he recovered himself he shouted for help. The deceased did not rise. Constable Kostcr, stationed at Sumner, Pilot Day, and many from Sumner and others were soon on the spot. Parties in boats dragged persistently for the body, but at the slack of the low tide, at about noon, Mr Hines and his son dragged that part of the river with their net and succeeded in recovering the body which was conveyed to the Cave Rock hotel, Sumner, where Dr. Symes pronounced life extinct. An inquest will be held this morning. The deceased was about nineteen years of age, and the son of Mr W. H. Comerford, well known as for many years master of the Prebbleton Government school, and was employed as machinist in Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs's. He was a fair swimmer, and has repeatedly bathed wiph Downing in the mornings. While passing from carriage to carriage on the out midday train on the north line near Styx station, on Friday, Guard S. Horsnall slipped and fell off, narrowly escaping being caught by the train. He was somewhat bruised by his fall, but held on to his duties till the return of the train.

(PRESS ASSOCIATION TELKGR*MS.) AUCKLAND, December 26. A party of lads went to Motutapu yesterday rabbit shooting. One, named Arthur James Harrison, fifteen, bought a gun at a pawnbroker's for 13s. He was nob accustomed to firearms and overloaded it and it burst, the charge going into his side. He died shortly afterwards. He was a son of Mr Tobias Harrison, a shoemaker, at Parnell. HOKITIKA, December 26. Mr William Watt, a well-known storekeeper, died on Friday evening. He had been in a b&d state for some time, and did not recover the shock of the fire which destroyed buildings on the opposite side of the street a week ago. He had to be moved out of bed as the house he was in caught fire several times. He was a very old resident and an old volunteer, and he had a military funeral this afternoon. DUNEDIN, December 26. Mr Robert Hume, commercial traveller for Messrs McLeod Bros. Limitet?, and one of the oldest on the road, died suddenly this morning, it is supposed from heart disease. He was about fifty-eight years of age. He had been for some years vicepresident of the Commercial Travellers' Association. Mrs Northcoat, aged fifty-seven years, dropped dead in a paddock at Waikaia.