TWO MEN KILLED

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21802, 6 June 1936, Page 18

TWO MEN KILLED

Water Level Reduced Three Feet

BURSTING OF DAM

CAUGHT BY BROKEN TIMBER

ACCIDENT ON WEST COAST (THE PRESS Special Service.] * GREYMOUTH, June 5. Trapped by the sudden bursting the Nemona Gold Dredging Company’s dam at Marsden, about 12 miles from Greymouth, this morning, two employees of the dredge were held underneath the swirling torrent by a piece of timber and. drowned. The victims of the tragedy were: WILLIAM WOODS, aged 58. dredgemaster, a married man, with two children. AINSLEY MOOEE, aged 41, dredge construction foreman, a married man with one child. With a third employee, George Fox Webster, the men were engaged in strengthening the dam. There was a log about 30 feet long bridging a weak part of the dam, which had face boards about six feet high, with a facing of clay and dirt to make it watertight. This log had commenced to bend with the weight of water behind it. The men who were attempting to put a prop under it to prevent It sagging further were working directly under the face -of the dam. The prop had been sawn to the required dimensions, and had been placed in position with wedges to tighten it. The work of driving m the wedges had commenced when Webster walked away to procure a hammer. In his absence there was a sudden snapping, and a great torrent of water rushed through the gap which at once appeared in the dam. Woods and Moore had no opportunity of escape. They were caught by the broken timber and pinned face downwards, being overwhelmed by the onrush of water. Although Webster immediately gave the alarm to the other dredge employees, nothing could be done to release the trapped men, as although only about three feet of water was passing over them, it was a swirling torrent. It was almost an hour before the level of water in the dam was reduced to the height of the gap in the dam. Even then there was some difficulty experienced in recovering the bodies owing to the timber which originally held them down and other debris which had been carried through the gap by the water. The men had evidently died by drowning, as there were no marks of crushing on the bodies.

Although only six feet high, the dam held back a large volume of water. Only portion of the dam was carried away, reducing the level of water by about three feet, and probably the men would have been able to escape uninjured if they had not been immediately pinned by the snapping of,the timber. The new Nemona dredge is almost ready to commence operations. Woods was only yesterday appointed dredgemaster. although he had been employed on its construction. He was one of the best known figures in the mining industry on the West Coast- His dredging experience , commenced in the early days of the industry in Central Otago, and he also had dredging experience in South America and Siam. His wife and son reside in Taranaki, and his daughter at Cromwell. Moore came to the West Coast from Canterbury about five years ago. He had been employed on dredge construction by the W. G. McKay company ever since. His wife and his 12-year-old son reside at Marsden. Like Woods, he was experienced 'in the work which was being undertaken, which was not considered dangerous. The bodies have been brought to Greymouth and an inquest will be held to-morrow.