TWO MEN BURIED. A NARROW ESCAPE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1908, Page 9

TWO MEN BURIED. A NARROW ESCAPE.

FALL OF EARTH AT NGAHAURAXG \. For over an. hour and a half yesterday afternoon two men engaged on the Hutfc railway duplication works at Ngahamanga were buried under a mass of rock and rubble, and we're then brought back to light of day uninjured. The men wero John Hitchins ami. Richard Duignan. both of whom- live at Petone, and they were engaged in carting spoil from the hillside to the .works on the opposite side of tho railwsy line. The spoil is sent down a shoot leading from the quarry, and the horse and dray had been' backed ip roady for A load. Duignan was- at the tip of the dray and Hitchins was behind. Without tho slightest warning, -a huge mass of 'rubble canie hurtling down from quarry, carrying away 'the barricade above the shoot, and completely covering men, , dray and horsc.-^. Hitchins 1 , with presence of mmd — lor at was totally dark— shut the^ hopperdoor of the" ishoot in order to prdvent j any further inrush into' the small space in which they were confined. ' COVERED BY SPOIL. Duignan ,was completely covered ,by the spoil— to a depth of 4ft, it is said, and as Hitchins's sbov*l had been, buried by the fall, he turned to with his hands and dug his Hardest- to rescue his mate. Soon he' felt his arm, then he was able to free" his head, and found that he was alive, and uninjured- -Having got Duignan' s s head dear he fetched' tho tail-board of the dray, wrapped a coat round it, placed it so as to prevent his "mate's 'face, being hurt by the stones, and very soon afterwards he had finished his task, and both men were clear. Even so, however, their position was one of peril, for there was ho knowing, ,when tho ! mass of spoil above them would • break through and overwhelm them. - As soon as the accident happened all other work was stopped, and as many men and horses and drays as could be found room for were sot to work to dig out the entombed men. ' One and nli' worked 'hard to remove the huge mass, and release their fellow-workers> but it was nearly ' an hour before they knew that they, were digging Out' the living, and not tho dead. Then, however, they neard a voice come through the ground, stating that Jrhey were both alive, and -unhurt. The pace, naturally, slackened a little after that, and in' tho course of another half-hour the rescue had been finally accomplished, and both men crawled out somewhat bruised and dazed, but practically uninjured,, and quite able to receive the congratulations of their fellows. The horse had been killed on the spot. Dr. Cahill drove out from town on hearing of the accident, but his services were not required. i ' ' 'i ——————