A SURVIVOR'S NARRATIVE

Grey River Argus, 28 May 1914, Page 5

A SURVIVOR' S NARRATIVE

■;('- ■;;■■ .^OTckLAND, : My3»7f i Messrs7p. M~ Sutherland and- jas> Borrie, two "farmers from Waimate, Sotfth Canterbu|y, \vho „wei:e., among the ' three^nißjuredil Occupants -jpf, ,the sleeper, took a/ prominent, part in assisting their less fortunate „ companions. ' ,".'.'. .:• '■ '- ■.■ . - „.-■■'■ ;. .

Mr Sutherland says that he was awakened by the crash of the collision. . This was followed'- b> a series of bumps coming nearer and nearer. ■■; "Before we could move my friend was knocked out of his berth by something which crashed into the par tition "wall. The next thing we knew we were being suffocated by gas. I got up and _put a boot through the window. .."We managed to get out .. somehow. We:;then saw the postal van ;had ploughed right , through the sleeper, but .the end of it " had just stopped ■short of our compartment . . * 'If 'it had gone a yard further w should, certainly have been injured like the rest. v : "I ran along the two carriages smashing all the, windows I could sf e to let the gas but- • "The steam from the heating apparatus was escaping with a loud noise, but some one cut off the supply. "Almost immediately we could hear cries for help coming from among the wreckage "A party of us started at once to get the injured; out. ■ It was quite dark, and owing to the escaping gas we could not bring 3amps near for some time. . "All the lamps seemed to be out when we went to bed," said Mr Borne, "though possibly one In the cor jridor alight. 1 suppose all .were jarred out when the crash came. • It is fortunate that the escaping gas did^no-t catch fire. If it had' done so, I don't .: think anybody in the. sleeper would- have been saved. '• ' "We got a tomahawk from some workmen and started to chop the wood work iaway. ; "It was difficult to get at the iniured, as only^six or eight of the rescue party could work together, and there was danger of hurting one. man while getting another out. "tT was two hours before we remov ed the last of them"We found Peterson lyang on the seat with a lamp crushed into his chest. . "The woodwork 'had also come down on his 'head, but' he was alive. "We got as many bunk-beds as pos S'.ble *o the side of the line with blankets, and the injured were laid on these. There was a Maori nurse on the train, who worked like a Trojan."