A SERIOUS TRAIN ACCIDENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 89, 10 April 1900, Page 2

A SERIOUS TRAIN ACCIDENT.

A MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED. (l'Elt PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Wellington, April 9, A sheep train from the Wairarapa met with a mish >p betweon K'iroko and Mangaroa. Forty-three trucks of sheep were derailed, aud went over a bank. T.'ie onginp, three tru.'k-', a< d th< yuard'.-i vm rem lined on t he ni;l. j . Hicbyi f-ign ilni'in at Muiigav.w, it:ii,d is belitve.l to bo uuder thi pilo of tiui-ks. A portion if th>! lim wis torn up. ILi'.v tho itcs«.J r.t happened is not )'■ t kljoiv;.. I.A'l'lSß. Hii-ks»fti removed fr>m iiuier tin 'rucks. He has an arm aud a lej; broken. The train which met with the accident consisted of forty sheep, eight timber, and four goods trucks, two guards' vans, and an engine. There was a brake van at the end and one in the middle. TIIO scene of the disaster was about two miles south of Kaitoke, at a spot where a sharp incline leads to an embanked curve, with a descent of some 25 feet on each side. As far as can be ascertained, half a mile before reaching this one of the trucks in the middle of the train got oil' the rails and bumped along till the curve was reached. There some of the trucks went over the side, and those behind telescop d on to those in front. The shock broke the engine couplings, and prevented it leaving the rails. The guaid at the rear had sucoeeded in getting the brakes on, and saved his yau and four timber trucks, but the re t were piled up on each side of the bank or on the line itself, and formed a pyramid twenty to thirty feet high. They were mostly broken into splinters, and a relief gang used them for bonfires. Hicks, who was guard (pot signalman), was in the middle van, and it was some time before it could be located. At last his groans were heard, and he was found under a mass of sheep and wreckage. It took two hours to extricate him. His left arm was crushed to pulp, his left leg broken above the knee, and his face and head cut and bruised. JJe was removed to the hospital. There were 2800 sheep the train, and at half are believed to be killed or mutilated, The trucks were all piled up in a space of two or three chains, and the line ploughed up for some distance. In addition, the passengers had to change trains, as it was found impossible clear the line, and the work will probably take all night, It is not known at present how the accident was caused, but from appearances the train must have been going at a considerable speed. - I