Inquest Into Antarctic Man’s Death In Snocat

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29070, 5 December 1959, Page 17

Inquest Into Antarctic Man’s Death In Snocat

No blame attached to Lieutenant Thomas Couzens in any way for the snocat accident which caused his death in Antarctica, Bernard Gunn, a geologist, said when an inquest into the death of Lieutenant Couzens was held before the District Coroner (Mr E. B. E. Taylor) yesterday. The Coroner found that Lieutenant Couzens, of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps died on November 19 from shock and hemorrhage due to multiple injuries received when the snocat he was driving fell into a hidden crevasse near Cape Selbome, Antarctica. Gunn, who was travelling in the snocat with Lieutenant Couzens and Mr James Lowery, said there was no way of seeing the crevasse. The surface over which the snocat was travelling at the time was described by Gunn as “gently undulating, with no indication of crevassing or any subsurface disturbances. “Less than a quarter of a mile from the camp the vehicle suddenly plunged to the right through a six-foot-thick lid of

crevasse, and fell vertically about 100 ft," he said. “We clanged against the sides of the crevasse once or twice and came o rest upside down. We were not able to get out.” Gunn said the snocat was severely damaged, the roof being smashed down flat with the bonnet. Mr Lowery was unconscious for a few minutes, and Lieutenant Couzens, who' was crushed between the steering wheel and the roof, neither moved nor spoke. We tried to get out for some hours, but were not successful - I sounded S.O.S. signals on the horn at intervals of half-an-hour or so. But because of the depth of the crevasse the ♦u SCI ? party was una Me to hear the horn until they were about 20 yards from the top.” • T l 6 sn °cat had gone out of sight over a slight rise, otherwise the men at the base camp would have been able to see it, said Gunn. Assistance arrived the next morning, about 20 hours after the snocat went into the crevasse.

When the snocat party had not returned to camp by 7 a.m. on November 20 another snocat party was sent out to look for it, said Murray Robb, the leader. About half-a-mile from the camp the rescuers found tracks disappearing into a crevasse about 15ft wide.

Another membpr of the rescue party, Kenneth Wise, described how he was lowered 90ft into the crevasse to extricate Messrs Gunn and Lowery.