KILN WALLS COLLAPSE

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 January 1928, Page 7

KILN WALLS COLLAPSE

CH.CH. MEN KILLED GREAT RESCUE EFFORTS (Special to “Star.”) CHRISTCHURCH, January 13. Three men were buried under a heavy fall of brick, when a brick wall collapsed just before midday at the timber yard workshops of C. E. Otley and Co. The men were, newly taken on for a single job in the drying kiln. When the north -wall collapsed, a three-inch concrete roof fell in, the first brick wall following. Two men were killed, and one seriously injured. The dead are:— W. Clark, 108, George Street, New Brighton. C. Nixon, 2GI, Kilmore Street, City, married. The injured man in the hospital is Albert Johansen, 91, Nursery Road. Johansen’s name is not on the serious list.

Thirty men or more, under C. E. Otley, worked feverishly in the endeavour to reach the buried men. They were spurred on by the agonising groans from beneath the huge pile of bricks. Men with hack saws, crouched down, cutting through the steel rods that impeded their progress. Thirty men heaved on a rope as the broken sections of the wall were hauled out piecemeal from the wreckage. >

Ambulances, with three stretchers laid out on the ground, hacked in to the scene of the accident, their drivers lending, a hand at the end of the rope. Dr Sheffield stood by, ready to render assistance as soon as the re lief gang could get near the buried men.

The first man reached was a labourer, A. Johansen, married, with a family. lie was close alongside the wall, fortunately in something like a pocket, but his right leg was imprisoned, and badly smashed. Dr Sheffield was able to give him morphia injections. It was nearly half an hour before he was extricated. He was sent direct to the hospital without examination bn the spot. He was suffering severely from shock, had facial injuries and his right leg was badly crushed. By this time, the relief gang had uncovered the arm of one of the other men. Dr Sheffield gave him morphia, and also spoke to him, but he relapsed into unconsciousness. He was also in something like a pocket, but immediately over him was a huge section of wall weighing tons. It was rather a ticklish job to get this huge mass away without injuring the man underneath but extraordinary precau tions were taken. A third man was believed to be buried further along in . the direction of Madras Street. Although it appeared to be a hopeless task, the men threw themselves eagerly into it, working with pick axes, crowbars at first, attaching ropes to each mass of wall that could be shifted. The relief gang, fifty strong, were themselves braving the risk of another fall in their endeavours to get at the ' victims. A middle wall, 15 feet high, of bricks, had been badly scored by the fall. The north wall was stayed up with baulks of timber, while the work was in progress.

The three victims had been temporarily engaged by the firm for construction work in the kiln. They were working in the kiln, when at about 11.45 without the slightest warning, the roof fell on it, and crashed the brick wall It was three inch thick slabs of concrete which first fell on the three men, and pinned them down. The wall following the rdof, put a. mass of bricks over the roof, making extrication much more difficult. At one o’clock the last haul was put on a brick slab, and the main obstacle removed. The second man was dead when they got .to him. A great slab had crushed his body.

In between the two gangs, a number of men were trying to locate the third man, Clark. Just after 1 p.m., Clark was located in about the centre of the broken wall. He was under tons of bricks and stone, buried even deeper than was Nixon. Clark was a hopeless case. Slab after slab of brick and concrete was dragged away. At 1.30 p.m., he was found, dead. He was embedded in bricks and debris at the very foot of the wall. Tons of material had crushed him, and his back was broken.

A fairly large crowd of curious people soon gathered around the gates, comprising mostly men and boys. The crowd was orderly and very quiet, keeping outside the premises. Anxiety and concern for the injured men was manifested, but on the whole, the people were silent, and awed. Vehicles passing the yards pulled up, and the crowd was augmented every minute. Men were at work on the far side of the remaining wall from the scene of the tragedy, the' wall leaning outward, pushing against some sheds. There was no danger of the wall caving in on the relief party.

There were four men in the kiln at the time the roof collapsed, but one man got out just in time. The roof was about 60ft by about 20ft, the wall about 60ft long 17 or 18ft high. The concrete roof was about three inches thick, falling in immediately afterwards.

The fourth man, Charlie Lovett, was working with the gang at the time of the fall. He was near the door and jumped to safety in the nick of time. He Ams struck only by splinters, and proceeded straightway to his home without severe injury.

The proprietor, C. E. Otley, had passed through the kiln ahout half a minute before. He had not gone ten paces when lie heard a crash. Flying pieces of brick struck seveial hands in the yard at the time, but none was badly injured. One or two showed bad bruises, and one had a gash under the eye.