RAILWAY DISASTER.

Grey River Argus, 21 July 1923, Page 5

RAILWAY DISASTER.

Evidence at Inquiry. (Per Press Association.) The- Ong: rn-? inquiry was continue: that he heard no official complain' from the injured. He overheard a com plaint from a clergymxn, hut this wa unfounded. He dig il<s { notice wate running down the water-table. He haplenty of men and tool-: at the wreck. Angus Ross, th.- guard, who took th. nrst train from Taumarunui to i.wreck, said that he was in uniform but no complaint was made to hin about handling Hie dead. None wn< roughly handled. The dead wna shown as much respect as possible ii the circumstances. Ho had no com Thomas Druiy, guard of the spuum' train, said that preference was give:: to the injured in the convevance. IL d«d not hear a c. : e»g'yman n akinn - a complaint. •John Dcnaliy, storeman at i au.’.i-i--runui Station, said lhal with a portci he removed ail tjic un-kni.n-d Ijuf-a ■ from the van r nd took it to Hie olil. •. He told the passengers to collect it. No charges were made that he knev of. It tinic Lad been any argument Storeman Dcnaliy gave evidence thm he was lift luggage off the - a tion platform, as a good deal of it i. ■ longed to the injured. He suggested to one passenger it would be more ad visable to store the luggage, as th- r< was a chance of pilfering. Witno.< made no reference to making a charcifor storing. . Alexander Laird, District Coroner gave evidence as to opening an inquest and hearing evidence. Witness wrs at rhe scone of the accident at 10.30. The cow-catcher was bent back. He h<mi<i no complaints regarding the way the rescue work was carried out. There were officials and police present, tc whom complaints could have been made. Robert Crazier, Ganger-in-Chnrge of Taumarunui section, evidenced how he procured equipment to go with tip first relief train. There were plenty of tools. The cow-catcher was bent and appear od to have been hit in the centre with something solid. The boulder was aboul a third the siz-o of the Kakahi boulder. The latter weighed about ten tons. Th? Ongnrue boulder was three feet high by five feet wide. AV hen he arrived on the first relief train, he helped to relieve two injured men, who jambed between seats. ITe also removed dead from the debris. They had to take the first dead out of the windows, the re being no other way. A medical man helped to shift the dead. AVitn~ss heard a certain clergyman remark that the dead should not he removed without a stretcher. There were plenty of tools and men for the work of rescue. The slip was a small one, but full of bould crs. Otherwise the train would have gone through it. He had known trains to go through slips. He heard no complaints as to a shortage of ambulance appliance. <lt was not a bad section. There had been rain, off and on. for sixteen weeks prior to the accident.