BOY LOSES HAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 14

BOY LOSES HAND

EXPLOSION IN GABDEN DETONATOR SUSPECTED GAME WITH "SHINY THING" [BY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION'] NFAV PLYMOUTH, Friday With ono hand so severely torn by nn explosion that it linrl to be nnipntatcd, ii boy, aged eight, was admitted to the Hnwera Hospital to-day. Ho is Sain MeKoy, son of .Mr. and Mrs. G. A. R. MeKoy, of Hawera. There is an element of mystery in the explosion, exeept that the child said he put a match to a shiny, silvery thing, that blew up. Jt is suspected that it was a detonator. The boy also suffered abrasions to his other hand and his face, it was reported from the hospital to-night that his condition was fair. The child was playing in the yard at his Ijonie when his mother heard a loud report. She rushed into the yard and found the boy with one hand shockingly lacerated. He was severely shaken, but conscious, and was able to tell his mother what had happened. The explosion was heard by neighbours some distance away and they hurried to the MeKoy home to discover the cause. The boy was promptly given'medical attention and rushed to the hospital, where the amputation was performed. The accident follows a recent report from the. Central School, where a box of 100 detonators was being handled by a large number of children and the deadly caps used as playthings. The detonators, which had been found under a hedge, intrigued the children, one of whom was trying to manufacture a whistle from the dangerous plaything.