CORONATION CASUALTIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14475, 23 June 1911, Page 6

CORONATION CASUALTIES.

BREECH-BLOCK BLOWS OUT. I'HItEB MEN INJURED. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, June 22. A serious accident happened at- Albert Park this afteruooiij in connection, wit'i the Coronation wiebratkms, !as the result of a bis fiUJ* explosion. I At' o'clock the A .battery of tho ! New Ztahuid Field Artiliaryj. under Major. Sheitjun, took up a position on th<* crfovn of tho hill overlooking the city, for tho purpose of tiring a' salute of 101 guns. tho proceedings - were well uud-er .way when un accident occur'red in the act of tiring guns, us the result of which three man T. Purdy, Bombad:or O. "West, and Guiuier A? B&rtlett—were more or less, sorioualy injured'. Just how the aoe'dent happened 110 one. who witnessed the accident teemed quite in a position -to say, but Gunner Bartlett, who wug most seriously inltirpd, had iiis arm badly mutilated, tkrfee fingers fbeing blown right off, oiie of thera falling into the lap .of a spectator sitting on a garden bench some distance away. Ser«£oajit Purdy and Bombadier Weet were botli injured about the fnoe. Tlie injured men. were to a private hospital. ' '• A possible explanation cf tho accident vouchsafed was that the pun. was being loaded and the breech nad not been closed properly when the iexplosion occurred, blowing the breech out.