FATAL EXPLOSION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19607, 8 April 1927, Page 10

FATAL EXPLOSION.

SENSATION AT DBTJBY. A FELLMGNGER I .KILLED. EMPLOYER GRAVELY HURT. MUCH DAMAGE TO' BUILDING, Described by a returned soldier who was present, as identical with the bursting of a high-powered shell, a terrific explosion in the fellmongery work? of fttr. Alexander Donald, at Drury, near Papakura, at about nine o'clock yester day morning, shattered an iron wooldrying machine weighing several tons. Struck by some ot the heavy pieces of metal that flew in all directions and made a gaping hole in one side of the building, one workman received injuries from which he died shortly afterwards, while the proprietor was taken to the hospital seriously injured. / Tho victims were : Mr. George Ralston, married, aged 32, of 30, Clarke Road, Papakura, who died on his way to the hospital. Mr. Alexander Donald, married, 42, of Pukekohe, who has serious lacerations of the side and thighs. The machine, known as a hydro-extrac-tor, stood in the back portion of the fellmongery, an oblong building of corrugated iron, which stands on the left side of tho Great South Road within two miles south of Papakura and a short distance from the Drury township. Driven by a steam engine, the process <if drying was achieved by filling the interior with wool and rotating the extractor at a high velocity. One fill of "wool had already been treated and a second spinning had begun when the accident., the cause of which is a mystery, occurred • Escape of Other Workers. Besides Mr. Donald —who was attending to the piachine and standing right against it—and Mr. Ralston, who was handling wool about sft. away, two other men, one Mr. Donald's son and the other Mr. J. Paru, were standing po great distance away the scene of tjie explosion. Both had miraculous escapes from injury. With a terrific report that was followed by tho prolon'ged clatter of broken fragments and the crash of the shattered galvanised iron wall sft. from it, the extractor burst into pieces. How Mr. Donald escaped death, even with tho severe injuries he received, is beyond comprehension. The pieces of flying metal, many of them weighing up to half-a-hundred weight, scattered in every direction. One charge destroyed a heavy stairway leading to the upper portion of tho building, another ripped the side of the wall for' a distance of 12ft. as if it were so much paper. The fatal charge was that which spread its debris over the layers of wool among which Mr. Ralston and the two other men were working. Heavy pieces of metal flew for a distance of 25ft., and one missed Mr. Donald's son by a hair's breadth, splintering a heavy timber beam near which lie was standing. Dead Man's Exposed Position. Occupying a particularly exposed position, Mr. Ralston was struck on the arm, body and bead by the fragments, and thrown by the force of the explosion for a distance of Bft. When p'icked up he was lying in a water chute near the outer wall. Mr. Donald fell near the machine When the explosion, lasting several seconds, had spent its force, one of the employees rushed over and turned off the steam, which was threatening to add a terrible scalding to the other injuries of tne prostrate proprietor of the fellmongery. Several workmen who were in other parts of the building came quickly to the scene and acted with commendable presence of mind in attending to " the sufferers and removing possible sources of danger. Dr. Mcßae and Dr. Page were summoned from Papakura. They did all that was possible in attending to the injured men and preparing them for removal to the hospital. Quick Work by Ambulance. The promptitude with which the, St. JoTtn Ambulance acted was a feature of the occurrance The only route by which Drury can be reached from the city is the Great South Road, tho Papakura portion of which is in a shocking condition. That the ambulance spent ojdy a little over two hours after receiving the summons in reaching Drury, picking up the sufferers and returning to the Auckland Hospital, is consideed a meritorious performance. Mr. Ralston's injuries were so grave that no hope was entertained for his recovery. Although he was still alive when the ambulance arrived at the scene of the accident, he died very soon after it had set out on the return journey. Mr. Donald was thought to be in a critical condition, and underwent an operation at the hospital. At an early hour this morning he was reported to be quite comfortable, although still in a serious condition. State of the Buiilding. A view of the rear and interior of the building leaves little to the imagination. Pieces of galvanised iron that were blown away from the wall lie in a creek at tho bottom of an incline at the rear, mingled with fragments of the machinery. Between the creek and the wall is a heap of all descriptions of wreckage. Inside there are dents in the walls and the timber joists, and debris is freely mingled with the layers of hides that cover the floor surface. The plant, which has been in use for many years, is said to have been working satisfactorily, and the usual precautions had been taken. It is the second occasion on which the proprietor has been visited with misfortune, for some months ago his factory was destroyed by fire, and the plant and a large portion of the new building is now extensively wrecked by another agency.' Mr. Ralston, who leaves a widow and three young children, was a popular resident of Papakura, and the news of his death was a great shock to the settlement. ,