MAN KILLED IN TUNNEL

Taranaki Daily News, 17 March 1931, Page 11

MAN KILLED IN TUNNEL

BURIED IN SANDSTONE FALL

ACCIDENT QN SEWERAGE WORKS.

INQUEST ON HARRY J. POPHAM.

A verdict that Harry James Popham died at New Plymouth on February 11 through being crushed by a fall of sandstone in the sewerage tunnel at the foot of Eliot Street, where he was working, was returned yesterday by the coroner, Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M.

The inquest was conducted by Senior Sergeant McCrorie. The proceedings were watched by Mr. G. M. Spence on behalf of the relatives of Popham, by Mr. A. ABennett on behalf of Stacpoole brothers, the contractors, and by Mr. W. J. Berryman, inspector of scaffolding. Popham was killed about 300 feet from the shaft, said Archibald John Campbell, a tunneller employed on the job. He said he commenced work with a shift of six men at 4 p.m. They were stripping the sides of the tunnel to widen it for concreting. About 1.30 p.m. Arnold Stacpoole, Popham and witness were working together. They were endeavouring to remove a projecting stone by spawling it. Popham finished, his side and then came over to help witness. However, ’ they failed to dislodge the stone with a hammer, and decided to bore it. ' They obtained an ordinary drilling machine worked by compressed air, and at the time of the accident witness had made the hole and was pulling the drill out. Popham was trimming the- wall behind witness and Stacpoole, who had their backs to him. Then the fall occurred above Popham. Standing sideways witness just saw the shadow of the fall and, looking round, beheld Popham’s legs and trousers showing from under the material. His head was covered.

POPHAM THEN DEAD.

Rushing to the injured man, Campbell and Stacpoole lifted him out. He was cut on the forehead. He give a few small gasps and then, Campbell" said, he thought he was dead. The fall com-,, prised sandstone. It had held up till that time. Though they had seen cracks in the wall they had considered it safe. The fall had come suddenly. They were using carbide lamps. The roof of the tunnel was shaped like an arch. No shot had been fired, and no charge placed in the hole. The tunnel at this point was passing through-solid material, partly sandstone and partly conglomerate. Pneumatic picks were necessary to cut through it. The cracks he had seen were in the roof and sides, and showed merely as lines. The first part of the tunnel passed through loose ground and was timbered from 100 feet to 150 feet from the shaft, but solid ground was not timbered. To Mr. Spence: He had had four years’ experience as a tunneller in Auckland and New Plymouth. To the coroner: The timbering extended over a space of 12 feet, 100 feet from the shaft. The rest of the tunnel was not timbered because it had been holding up. He considered it was safe. To Mr. Spence: There had been previous falls from the inside of the tunnel, but they had. been only small. Wilson had been hurt in another part of the tunnel.

To Mr. Bennett: It was not unusual for small pieces to come down in any tunnelling work. “Then am I to understand that the previous falls were not sufficient to cause you alarm?” asked the coroner. “Yes.”

CONCRETED MOST OF DISTANCE.

Campbell said the tunnel had been concreted for most of the distance from the shaft to where they were working. It had been stripped and then concreted in short lengths. The piece being worked on was a 12ft. length next to the concreted part. To the coroner: There was timber available in the tunnel. _ If he had thought the section required timbering he would not have worked there unless that work had been carried out. Because the ground had been holding up he did not think the length in question needed timbering. Edward Arnold Stacpodle, a member of the firm of Stacpoole Bros, and party, contractors, said he was in charge of one shift. The total length to be concreted was 1000 feet—6oo feet one side of the shaft, and 400 feet the other. The shaft was about 58 feet deep. The first tunnel was 3ft. 6in. wide and sft. Gin. high. When the accident occurred the bottom of the shaft had been timbered and about 80 feet of concreting had been done in the 400 ft. end. The accident occurred about nine feet from the end of the concrete. The height of the concreted part wa#"ri)ft. Gin., and the width 13ft. Gin.

When the timbering had to be done the custom was to remove the ordinary men and. proceed with the work necessary. At the cross-cut the tunnel was timbered and then concreted before other work proceeded. At 11.30 p.m. they had almost completed stripping for the concrete when it was found necessary to remove a projecting part. They tried unsuccessfully to,- spawl it for about half an hour. Then witness went to the surface and obtained the drill and hose to bore the rock in order to blast it. They finished boring the hole and tried to extract the drill, which was slightly clogged. Campbell and he were tugging at the drill, and Popham was working directly behind.

Witness stepped back to give the drill a tug, whereupon the fall occurredOn looking round he saw Popham on his back, under the fall. He thought Popham’s head must have struck an iron rail- There was a long length of hose directly behind witness, and this was tangled. Popham may have fallen oyer this in trying to avoid the fall, which comprised about tons of soft sandstone, only the end of which would have caught Popham. Had he stepped back six feet he would have been in the shelter of the concrete. Not a piece as big as a hand had previously fallen in that shift, and he considered it was the safest shift they had had. It was not necessary to use tools to remove Popham. He was dead on being got out. The nature of the tunnel ground varied from, very hard

natural concrete to sand. In parts where timbering was considered necessary the tunnel would be made wider and higher in order that the concrete could be put in, leaving the timber in place. In such cases contractors would, expect to be“paid for the timber left in.

NOT NECESSARY TO TIMBER.

It was not necessary to timber the section in question. They had just gone through a very hard sandstone.. The inspector of scaffolding supervised the work and visited the place frequently. The work was being done to his requirements. To the coroner: The boulder that struck Popham was embedded in the SRTldi Edgar Eric Jury, labourer, said he went°down the tunnel on the 4 o’clock shift. He worked with Popham till 11 o’clock, when he went to the west end of the tunnel. Witness’ work had been that of widening the tunnel for the concrete. There was no indication that the roof would cave in, and he did not think there was any danger. He was about 50 yards'away from the scene of the accident. William Alfred George, labourer, who had been trucking the earth from the face of the tunnel,. heard a report as he was going up the shaft. Then, he said, Lynch came to him and asked him to notify a doctor. Witness called the message to a man on top and next assisted to get Popham to the surface. Witness had noticed nothing whatever wrong with the tunnel Popham was working in. Had witness thought it was dangerotis and spoken of the matter to Stacpoole it would have been timbered. William J. Berryman, inspector of scaffolding, said he paid 53 visits to the work up to the time of the .ccident. The last one had been on January 26. To Mr. Spence: He went to the scene of the accident on the day afterwards and on February 16. He thoroughly examined the ground and thought it perfectly safe. . To the senior sergeant: Th: timbering work was done at his discretion. He did not think it necessary to timber this ground, as he saw it after the accident. , _ To the coroner: The cause of Popham’s death was a purely isolated fall. Dr. D. E. Brown said he was called to the scene of the accident towards midnight. He reached the tunnel apparently just after Popham had been brought to the surface and placed in the hut. He was then dead, the cause seeming to be the crushing either of the head or of the chest. To the coroner: There was a small superficial injury over the temple, which was consistent with Popham being struck by a fall of sandstone.