BLOWN TO PIECES.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 5855, 1 October 1917, Page 6

BLOWN TO PIECES.

nine fishermen killed, not a trace left. In June a cable message recorded an incident which happened on the Irish coast. The lull story is given in the following remarkable passage m the “Times.’' An accident by which nine lives were lost is reported from County Galway. While four fishermen were fishing oil tbt coast on I’riday. at a place named Loughanebeg, lb miles rrom the town of Galway, they saw a strange object lloating in the water. Ttttey polled -their curragh towards it, and saw that it was bar-rel-shaped and hail handles on each side. The men towed the object ashore anu began to unscrew it- They were joined by other men until there were m all ten men on the beach. One of them, .Joseph Flaherty, believing that the object was a mine, warned his companions of the danger of tampering with it and hid behind a rock on the shore. A young man succeeded in unscrewing a portion of the mine, and when he tried to withdraw what appeared to he a cord or fuse, sbai qjitj.a •po.i.iiu.io uoisoplx,) uir jtiof jopptdy jo oJliqpA ,>hj in p.iooij miles away. Flaherty was struck on the head by a stone or piece ol the mine. When he stood up there was not a trace of his companions. All that was to lie seen was a great hole in the slior ewhere the explosion bail taken place. A little boy ,wbo asw the men on the beach immediately before the mine exploded, ran towards them. One of his arms was afterwards found near bis father’s house. There is no trace of bis body. Dr W. A. Sandve, of Galway, who was motoring in tin- neighbourhood, said that his car was almost lifted off the road by the explosion. He attended the injured man Flaherty, who has become deal as a result of the shock, ami then brought the coastguard to the scene. The nine missing men belonged to ttbe Loughanebeg district, and three of them were married and bad families. Lord Killanin, on hearing of the occurrence, drove to the scene and assisted in the search for the bodies.