RAILWAY SMASH

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 15 September 1926, Page 9

RAILWAY SMASH

EXTRA EDITION.

N.S.W. CASUALTY LISTS.

IDENTIFICATION DIFFICULT

BODIES SO BADLY MANGLED

3f CA.BLE-PEES3 ASSOCIATION —COPYaiOHT. Received' 12.35 p.m. to-day. SYDNEY, Sept. 15. Although the various .lists published in the newspapers give the total killed in the railway accident' as twenty-six, 'there is a great disparity in the jjames of the victims. Many bodies are so hadlv mangled that identification is most difficult. It would now appear that th-e girl Sectomto. the man S. Brash and one of the two Samsons mentioned are not among tire victims. Some lists .include Wilson and his wife and Master Rich ; others do not. Until revised lists are compiled iit will bo impossible to clear up the disparities.

WORK OF RESCUE

AGONISING SCENES,

DRIVER’S MIRACULOUS ESCAPE

Received 1.50 p.m. to-day. SYDNEY, Sept. 15. Travellers by the wrecked train who have reached Sydney gave- graphic acVfounts of the disaster and subsequent ; scenes while extricating the dead and wounded. The driver of the train had) -a miraculous escape. He says that on coming round the bend he was horrified to see the runaway tracks bearing down upon him. He jammed his brakes down hard, but was unable to pull up the train. A moment later he heard the fireman shout, “For God's sake, jump!’’ His foot caught in a strap, he heard A lending crash, and remembered no more. When he regained consciousness. he found himself lying in the tender, .partly buried under the coal, but only slightly injured. Other travellers described the gcene nsi one of unforgettable gruesomeness, heads, arms- and legs being jumbled! up in all directions, and bodies being piled up in heaps. The work of extricating them was very arduous, owing to the darkness and closely-wedged position of the victims, many of whom coulcl not be-moved, after levering and hacking away the woodwork, without liurting other unfortunates pinned alongside. The suffering of many of those wedged amongst the wreckage was intense, and numbers succumbed in agony before the rescuers were able to re--1 eve them.

NO SIGN OF PANIC

TEMPORARY COUPLING THAT BROKE. Received 2.20 p.m. to-day. SYDNEY, Sept. 15.

One official report states that prior to the accident a coupling between the trucks of the goods train broke, and a steel rope was used to replace it teml>orarity in order to draw the train into M.iirulla aiding, to let the mail, train pass, and that, while entering the siding, the rope snapped and the trucks broke away. Numerous deeds of heroism, and seltsacrifice among the injured are narrated . , Witnesses state that the women awl a party of .schoolgirls returning to Sydney from the vacation 'behaved with most commendable calmness amici the scenes of horror. There wns> hot the slightest signs of panic. Judge Mocatta wfts among the passengers who escaped uninjured. Four of the injured in hospital are reported to he in a .serious condition. The majority of the others are suffering from broken limbs, bruises and severe shock.