DETONATOR EXPLODES

Grey River Argus, 12 March 1938, Page 4

DETONATOR EXPLODES

BOY’S FINGERS INJURED.

AUCKLAND, March 11.

Through the explosion of a detonator with which he was playing, Robert Turner, aged seven years, the elder child of Mr and Mrs G. Turner, of Swanson, had the tips of his thumb and the first three fingers of his left hand blown off.

It is believed that the boy applied a match to the detonator. Unusual circumstances surrounded the accident, which occurred at the back door of the boy’s home. After a walk along the road the previous evening, in company with his sister, Elizabeth, aged five, the boy returned with a number of articles which he stated he had found on the roadside. His father examined one, and discovered that it was a spent .22 cartridge shell. Others were similar in shape and size, and Turner concluded that they would be harmless playthings. Actually, he had examined the only empty cartridge shell among about eight live detonators.

When they were milking, the parents heard an explosion, followed by cries, from the direction of the house. On investigating they found the two children near the back door, the boy with his left hand badly injured, and the girl with slight scratches on the legs. A number of detonators were on the ground, and the remains of a matchbox, which had been left inside the house, were strewn about. The boy was subsequently removed to hospital.