ALMOST ELECTROCUTED.

Northern Advocate, 26 August 1924, Page 4

ALMOST ELECTROCUTED.

STARTLING HAPPENING,

Water sereet,

A startling accident happened jtiKfi before 11 o'clock this morning at thaisite of the new bridge in Water Street. During the course of pile-driving op-» orations .T. T. Gwynne, a son of tsa i contractor, had occasion to ascend to. the top of the derrick in order to adjust the wire rope through the pulley/ lit carrying out this operation he overbalanced mud put out his hand to steady himself and grabbed an electric cable carrying 230 volts. Gwynne's screams attracted the afr tention Qf his father and his brother, j The father immediately ascended the j derrick and held on.to his son in order, j to ]> re vent him falling to the bed ofl the creek below, a distance of about' 25 feet. .in the meantime Mr Len Weston got? in touch with the electrical power station attendants who promptly cut' off the current. The telephone exchange authorities also assisted in obtaining medical aid, which resulted in Dr. Ward being t promptly on the scene. ' After medical attention the sufferer was removed to the Whangarei Hos* pital, where he is getting along nicely, the authorities stating that (xwynna will only require rest for a day or two. Mr. Gwvnne, sen., who hung on to his son previous to the current being cut off, is also suffering slightly from shock. Speaking to a "Northern Advocate" representative after the accident Mr.; W. J. Dawson, electrical superintendent for the Borough, stated that G'wynno was a very lucky man to escape so lightly; had he grabbed the next wire with his other hand and completed thocircuit he would have had. 440 volts running through his body and this would have meant instant death. "Yes, he's very fortunate," said Dawson.