A THRILLING EXPERIENCE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3013, 26 February 1917, Page 8

A THRILLING EXPERIENCE

DIVER FOULED BY A HAWSER FIVE HOURS UNDER WATER A diver employed by the Union Steam Shipping Company, named Walter Slnith, had' a very unpleasant experience beneath the surface of Wellington Harbour yestorday afternoon. A steel rope had fouled tho propeller of the steamer Mararoa while the ship was being got off tho rocks at Capo Palliser. lie rope was still attached to the propeller .when the .Mararoa berthed at the ferry wharf, and Smith was direoted to go down and clear it. A ladder was attached 1 to the wharf at the ship's stem, and Smith went down in his diver's suit shortly after 2 T>.m. He did not get to the surface again till five hours later, and most of the time he had spent tangled helplessly in a bight of tnu hawser. Smith had been down some time before the men in, charge of the air pump and his lines noticed anything wrong. Then it was found that ho did not respond to signals, and an attempt to pullihim up revealed the fact that he was entangled firmly. Smith is an elderly man, who has had much expert ence in diving, and his apparent failure to -respond .to signals naturally caused alarm. It was feared that he had met with some serious accident. Effortß to bring him to the surface with the rope attached to his suit were fruitless, and messengers were- sent to find another diver. .

Some delay occurred owing to the day being Sunday. The men on the wharf still failed to get any response to signals, but they kept the air pump going Bteadily and waited for assistance. Late in .the afternoon Mr. August Gans, the Wellington Harbour Board's diver, reached the spot with his gear, and he went down to ascertain what was the matter. He found that Smith was alive and uninjured, but was held] firmly round the body by a bight of the wire rope. The rope used! for signals was also entangled, but fortunately the aii' pipe had kopt clear. Smith was held in a. recumbent position, with his feet higher than his head, and he was almost helpless from constraint and fatigue. He had struggled' hard to release himself, but had not been able to help himself.

Gans found that he had a very difficult task in hand.- The light was bad and the inflated diving suit bulged on either side of the hawser, which had a tight grip of Smith. Gans bad to come to the surface several times to give instructions, and it appeared likely at one stage that the assistance of a third diver would be required. Tho general public was excluded from the wharf, but a small crowd of, officials and interested persons had gathered, and there was great relief at the news that Smith was alive. As the night approaclied, an electric light was hung low over the stern of the Mararoa, and anxious eyos watched the.bubbles on tho dark surface of tho water. The two pumps were thudding in unison, and alert hands held the ropes and airpipes. Gans appeared for a few minutes shortly before 7 p.m., and watched an attempt to pull Smith up. A gain of a foot or two was made, but then there was a check again, and Gans went down once more. The next incident was a signal from Gans that loss air was to bo pumped to Smith. Tho pump was slowed, and a few minutes later a subdued cry oftriumph indicated that Smith was being lifted. The two men' came up together. Smith was helpless, and had to be of most of his gear while resting on the rungs ■of the ladder at the surface of tho water, sinco ho had not the strength to climb. Ho recovered to some extent in the fresh air, and was put to bed on board the Maori. Ho had been under water for nearly fivo hours, : aud his experience had proved a_ very one. "I had a terrible time," lie said, in answer to a question. "I could not get free, and my head was down. I thought I was all in this time. The air came all right, but I did not know what was happening up here, and I could not' signal. A real bad time I had."

The man who effected the rescue told a Dominion • reporter that he found Smith firmly wedged into a loop of the_ rope, which had got badly twisted. Smith's strength had gone, and probably his struggles to get clear had tightened the rope. Gans had very great difficulty in clearing the rope. He did not succeed fully until he siglinlled for less air in order to reduce the pressure inside Smith's dress. "Then I stood on top of him," he said, "and got him upright again. Ho came clear easily at the last." Gans took a very modest view of his own efforts, but he had to receive many congratulations on his successful rescue."

DAMAGE SLIGHT , SHIP MAKING PRACTICALLY NO . WATER. Arrangements were made yesterday morning for a diver to inspect the Mararoa's hull, with the object of ascertaining the extent of the damage caused by her contact with the rocks. The entanglement of the diver while airtempting to clear a wire rope from the propeller delayed operations, however, and the inspection was not completed. The ship was stated! last evening to be making practically no water.

AT ORONGORONGO At Orongorongo Homestead Mr. Eric Riddiford's telephone was in great demand, all day, as it was expected that if the southerly freshened up the passengers'would have to be landed on the beach. Mr. Riddiford, who was on the spot, lent every assistance. As showing how thick the fog was out there, Mr. Biddiford could speak' to those on the Mararoa, but could not see tho ship.

THE MARAROA'S CAPTAIN Much sympathy has been expressed with the Mararoa's master (Captain ,T. 1). Reid), who only took over the ship •on Wednesday last. Prior to that he was on the Paloona. and others of the company's fleet. His reputation as a careful navigator',- has been mentioned in many quarters.

THE FOG BLANKET ERRATIC VISITOR TO WELLINGTON. The immediate cause of the Jlararoa going ashore at Turakirae Head was the very thick fog, which occurred in the Strait oil Saturday, and liung like a pall over tlio water and the Strait coastline throughout the day. It appeared to roll up from the south about 7.30 a.m., and before_ an hour had elapsed it had closed in on all sides like a thick grey veil. Tlio dpnsity of the fog on the hills surrounding Wellington denoted tho difficulties which mariners in the Strait, where tho fog was thicker, must have experienced in navigating tho veiled waters. In Wellington City wo could probably seo objects mistily for about a mile, but tho cxperienco at the Heads was very different. The signalmen at the outer flagstaff (above Seatoun) saw tho fog rolling up from the south at fi a.m., but when it touched the land it shut out any view of the water at all, and from 8 a.m. until noon.'thoy could not seo more than fifty or sixty yards down

' the hill, and caught no glimpse of the water at Breaker Bay (the nearest point). Tho signalmen say that these sea - fogs are freakish in the way they lie. Sometimes it is impossible to see more than a hundred yards from tho top of tho hill, when you can see a mile down on a. level with the water. At other times the fog lies like a blanket on the water, and all that can bo seen of a vessel is the tops of her masts, like two sticks moving mysteriously through a meadow of spider gossamer. It is a curious thing that Wellington, which enjoys a singular immunity from fogs, generally experiences them at tills time of tho year, whereas at Home they are peculiar to the winter months. It was on February 1 lqsfc year that Cook Strait was enveloped in a very heavy fog, during which both the Koniata and Kaitoa found the land where they least expected it.

THE PASSENGER LIST By Telwaph—Press Association. Chrlstchurch, February 24. The following is a list of passengers booked from Lvttelton last night TSEsses Hough, Johansen, Gray, Pickham. Maofarlane, J. H. Lewis, Mackie (2), Findlay, Hill, Walden, Sloan, Gleenan, Clearie, Judge, Cummings, Evans, Torrens, Holmes, Gardner, Wheeler, Billon, Burke, Leitch, Carter, Ginson (2), M'Gregor, Gallaghan, and Barr; Mesdames Ward, Barron, M'Ewen, Aiken, Payne, Osborne, Walker, Wane, Mabalsome, Cleave, Mann, Lewis, Gasson, and ohild, Mason, Bain and child, Wrenn, Knox, Smith and child, Evjms, Gardner, G. Moore, Duncan, Lambert, Virtue, Barnes, Buckley, Crews, and Pane; Messrs. Johansen, Lake, Carter, Pratt, 'Buckley, Carmichael,'Hills, Best, W. E. D. Bishop, Davies, Derr, Manton, Clark, Stvachan, White, H. A. Wilson, D. J. B. Seymour, N. B. M'Callum, Veale, Leffen, Marsh (2) and boy, Nisigh, Roberts, Taylor, Muchmore, Aiken, Boreman, Franks, Payne, Bernard and 2 children, Findlay, W. H. Seed, Ranell, Fuller, Clark, Allan, Honighan, M'Carter, R. Walden, Hanson, Atlice, A. Travers, B. B. Fennan, W. Hines, T. Rawliiison, Monran, T. Addies, A. Travers, V. Pine, N. M'Kee, Clark and child, Hunter, Wright, Thomas, Roy, C. Walsh, Williams, Richards, Read. Blakiston, Nosworthy, Clark, Forsytn, Wright, Ross, White Ewart, Ferguson, A'Court, Bard/ey, Anderson, Donaldson, Mee, Young, Man, Young Yuk, R. Adcdck, Thomas Smith, Kenny, Roache, Crews, Cox, R Hicks, Pane, Matthews, Douglas, Cotter, Maneghan, M'Gregor, and Callaghan, Rev. Allan, and Major J. Malcolm.