MINE TRAGEDY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 4871, 16 February 1933, Page 3

MINE TRAGEDY.

ACCIDENT AT HIKURANGI,

THREE BROTHERS DEAD. Wihangarei, February 15. A tragic accident occurred at a small privately-owned coalmine near Hikurangi, at about noon today, when three brothers lost their lives, one after the other. The victims are James Ackers, aged 24, married, with one child; Jack Ackers, aged 20, and Albert Ackers, aged 18.

The mine was owned by the father, Mr. William Ackers, who was working on a scam at the bottom of the siding shaft,. By knock signals he instructed that a descent he made of the narrow air shaft, about a chain distant from the main shaft. It was sunk a year ago, but has not since been used, lie did this with the object of ascertaining what further distance would be required to reach the scam.

Albert started the descent, and apparently was fatally overcome by black damp fumes. When part of flio way down he foil to the bottom.

The second brother sensed that something was amiss, and entered the shaft for the purpose of affecting a rescue, but he, too, became a victim of the poisonous fumes. As though this dual tragedy failed to suffice, the third brother attempted the same perilous descent, and lie also lost his life in the same way as his brothers. Since none of the three brothers appeared again, and gave no signal, Mr George Wilson, another employee, who was on the surface, rushed to obtain assistance. He obtained a canvas chute from the Waro co-operative mine. After the gaseous fumes had been cleared bv this means, the bodies of the three victims were recovered.

A doctor from Hikurangi pronounced life as being extinct in all three cases. An indication that the three were asphyxiated during the descent is furnished by the fact that head injuries which each received showed that they fell some distance, the air shaft being 324 feet deep.

The full complement of mine operatives is five, comprising the owner, his two sons, and two other employees. James was merely on a visit to Hikurangi at the time.