THE KILLED AND INJURED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2110, 30 March 1914, Page 6

THE KILLED AND INJURED.

A SORRY STORY,

WELL-KNOWN LOCAL RESIDENTS.

PERSONAL NOI'ES.

Of the sis persona who succumbed as tho result of the.explosion, threo- were dead when their bodies were recovered; Those wcro W. Flyim, Geo. Taylor, and Constable Maijoney,

The Jirsfc body to lie recovered Was that of Iflynn, who was discovered uader. soiaio debris, inclnding a sheet of corrugated irou, on. the footpath in front of the store. ■ Taylor's body was found, inside the shop, not far from the front entrance, Mr. Vivian was found behind the shop emmter. He was cut nboiit the faw a g«xl deal, but was not badly burned. Ho was carried in an unconscious condition into the billiard-room of tliß Provincial Hotel, and expired an hour later.

Mr. Coirresky was found in an unconscious condition in Mi'. Edwai-nVs office (tiic Isaii'to- adjoining'the stare), where Ire hud been engaged in dismantling a

1 r —: —; —"-—"' ■ .' ■ "*■ "[ jured by two < Sisters from .St. Joseph's . N Orphanage, Nurse Huggins, and a number of other women. Several men also assisted in this work. ... A FEARFUL EXPLOSION; When tho explosion occurred several men (Messrs: E. C. Thomas, P. Stott, W. Wilkinson, and — Collett) wero ..' . . standing at or. very near Messrs. Bengo and Pratt's shop door. They wero ,■ hurled across the street and lay whero '. they fell, as oho oye-witness .expressed ' it, "rolling and rocking." ; They'were dazed, and it'was minutes Before,, they '.realised what had .happened. Mr, i Thomas, .was..struck in the hack hy a .■' hit of iron or, sbmething of that kind. ;•■.;''Hβ. has only a-vague:notion of his pro- •'. gress across . tho . street. ,'!I eiroply '"■' flew," he declared. Tho effect of the '■explosion tipon the huilSing in which ■■■. if occurred was to crnmplo it up. Within a few minutes tho place was a ' collapsed mass of blazing tuins. ; \ ; -/ A striking indication :of. the force of the explosion is to bo found in the fact . that a piecie of wood from the blownMip builaing was driven through a, window of the housei occupied by Mr. Jacob George, ivhich stands about a quarter _'■, of -a mile away southward 'from the scene . of the explosion. ..;. •■- .. Several womeh, ivhb were standing on the road .or, Tunning to the firo when the explosion 1 occurred, wero either. ■' thrown to the ground or hurled a littledistance ih'the air. ; A FALSE REPOBf. During tlio morning a report was circulated'to. the effect that another • man was missing, aiid that cries _ for assistance had teen heard from within tho building whilst .the fire was in progress, later oil,' however, the man ' turned up iinhai'nied. , :''.■;. -._ ; . . ... During the forenoon the,police went carefully over the debris—the. store was , burnt clean to tlio ground—in. order to ' ■■■ seo if. there, were any further remains, .-[' ; sas it was iipt at [all. sure ,how maiiy were actually inside the huilding when the'.explosion occurred, '.'-. '.. .':.• RAISING THE ALARM. The persbn who first,noticed the. fire In Messrs.; Bongo ■and'Pratt's was Mrs. ' • Crabtreo, the wife of the licensee of the Provincial Hotel; She informed a reporter thai at 11,35 p.m. she noticed a slight glare at Sengo and Pratt's, and Boon afterwards became aware that tho place was on fire,' and gave the alarm. 'She is certain that the fire broke out in the front portion of Benge and Pratt's building. Mrs. Crabtree and her hashand aroused the members' of their household, and Mr. Crabtree carried the alarm to Cblistablb .Mahoney. AN INVALID IN PERIL. ' One of tho iftniates in the Provincial Hotel, occupying a bedroom which after- . wards was cbntplotery wrecked, was Mrs. . ' Brighonse (Mrs.. -Crabtree's mother), aged 77 years, Who recently suffered a , fractured :thigh, the result of a motor accident. Tho other lady inmates had just assisted the invalid downstairs when the cVash came, and shattered windows, panes; aud sashes. . '. ■ . MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. ' When Mr. Comesky was overwhelmed in the ruins of Edwards's of-fice-ho lay for atime unnoticed aiid surrounded by flames, but eventually was seen by ) his son Daniel. The one available, hose - was turned on the spot, and Mr. Cbmesky's two sons, aud James, assisted by Mr. C. iWolters, rushed in and brought him . but, stiU'alivo, hutunconsciouß. '.-■: Engine-driver W. Greig and his assistant (Fireman J.Skelton), aiid GUafd' euriliffo had 'just : -lH'6ughfc .iil'thfe" 10.35 ! p;in. train from Wellington';" aiid'fegerly volunteered for the' extra duties'eh- ' tailed in,.connection'.with the -extra special,'which was dispatched sobh after • the 11.30 had ,follo\ved them' into the Hutt station.! They put up a record journey of forty-five minutes, and wero ' mot at tho /Wellington station by two ambulance,,.wagons, into ' which Dr. Kempand several assistants soon placed ' the dying and the injured, before making the homeward journey, with the eagerly-sought information as to how tho four passengers stood at tho terminus. .-,.'. . ■'.''. ' i All residents in close rtrbximity to the .outbreak „ deposited their furniture in ' the road, fearing a rapid spread of the ■ fire. When tho dangor was past, , however, willing hands quickly restored tbo furniture to'tho ; houses. <•

The well-known '. accountant and auditor, Mr. C. D. Morpeth, narrowly escaped, serious injury. ..■Hβ was in the act of getting off his bicyclo at" the rear of Mr. Hazelwood's store, when the explosion occurred. Mr. Morpeth was seriously cut about the head aJid face, , by falling debris, and had to bo taken :tc his home, whore Dr. Hector attended him, later on. Mr..Morpeth is understood to be'progressing'well. ' / Railway Stationmas.ter James Kemp was one of those.'who fortunately lives to tell of his miraculous escape, and was one of tho very much overtaxed.officials ' in the early hours of Sunday morning, when attention to tho injured and the dispatching of tho special train over the cleared, line in 45 minutes was a matter of life-ahd-death importance. He was in the shop with, those who were killed and somehow escaped. ■ During yesterday afternoon tho scene of tho catastrophe was visited by between 1000 and 1600, people, including many from Wellington who had heard at an early .hour of tho accident.' ! They Damo up by motor-car, motor-cycle, train and trap; and manifested an absorbing ■interest in the details of the awful affair. Among the official visitors were Mr. W. G. Riddel],. S.M. (who inspected tho remains of the deceased, and issued certificates for their'interment), ,Ur., D. G, A. Cooper, S.M., and Superintendent Ellison. .

Definite'evidence is available as to Iho exact time at which the explosion occurred. Tho bar-room clock in the Provincial Hotel was stopped at 0.14 a.m.'and it was , just six minutes fast. The time of the explosion therefore was exactly oight minutes past midnight. Mr. W. R. Morris (Secretary to tho Post and Telegraph Department) motored U Upper Hutt yesterday afternoon and visited the Post Office residence.

One surprising fact in connection with Iho 'demolition of Bcngo and Pratt's store was that tho two chimneys iii the- building did not share- the ttiin common to tho rest of tho structure. One chimney was left standing practically intact, whilo tlte other still retains ibout a dozen feet of its height. Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., as member for the district, has sent the- following telegram to tho Primo Minister (the Hon. W. F. ,'Massoy):—"Trust .that you will urge Cabinet to- assist the widows and children of those who havo Jost their lives in trying to assist others, and in carrying out a public duty."