TRUCK DRIVER DROWNED NEAR MURCHISON

Grey River Argus, 27 June 1947, Page 8

TRUCK DRIVER DROWNED NEAR MURCHISON

Vehicle Falls into Flooded River P.A. NELSON, June 26. Trapped in the cab of a motor truck, John Condell, a young man, whose mother resides in Nelson, was drowned in Mangels River, near Murchison, this morning. Two other occupants of the vehicle had narrow escapes from drowning when the truck left the road. It plunged down a bank into the heavily flooded river. Condell was driving the truck, and he had with him Messrs T. and H. Monahan. They were travelling along Mangles Road when, at a narrow place, they endeavoured to pass a car, driven by H. Ellison. The truck left the road, and it went down a fairly steep bank into the water, which was running strongly. Condell was not seen after the vehicle entered the water, and the two others were washed down the river for several chains, they were able to halt their progress, by clinging to a tree on the bank. In the meantime, Ellison had obtained a rope, and with this, he was able to pull the two men to safety. The truck was washed down river. A search for C’ondell’s body was started soon after the accident. Condell, who was about 21 years of age, was working on a farm at Murchison. He was the con of Mrs E. J. Condell, Halifax Street, Nelson. WESTPORT, June 26. The late Walter James Condell, an ex-naval rating, was employed by Mr Thomas James, Four River Plains, Mangles Valley. The river was in considerable flood at the time and the Moynihan Brothers had rather a fortunate escape, swimming down the river for a distance of about a chain until they were swept towards the bank where they grasped hold of foliage to be eventually rescued. They were tipped out into the river but Condell did not get free of the vehicle, and was possibly hurt when it fell into the river. The motor truck had been swept about half a mile down the river by nightfall. Search parties under Constable J. L. Moore, of Murchison, were unable to locate the body of the missing man, and will resume operations tomorrow, by which time the flood waters will have abated considerably. Cordell’s mother, who is a widow, resides at Nelson. SEA COMES IN AT GRANITY Abnormally high tides reported in other places, such as Blaketowp, Wellington and Taranaki, have been also experienced in northern Buller. A shingle bed moved in at Granity and covered' ten feet of the playing ground at the school with spoil, flax and trees. Waves broke well up on the school wall and damaged playing areas.

There is grave danger of their being lost, unless measures are taken to prevent further erosion. At Nikau further north, the sea ruined a vegetable garden containing over 8,000 young cabbage plants, carrots and parsnips, usually marketed in Westport. A resid'ence narrowly escaped the attention of the sea. Sections were damaged. Protection walls have been damaged on beaches. The taking of shingle is likely to oe prohibited until accretion has removed the weak points. According to records, the tides were one foot above the predicted heights, said the harbourmaster at Westport, Captain A. Tointon. These heights had been accentuated' by the heavy seas. It was usual to expect increased high tide flows during extremely low barometric pressures, especially when low readings synchronised with the spring tide flows.