PIERCED BY STEEL BOD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16451, 13 June 1921, Page 6

PIERCED BY STEEL BOD.

REMARKABLE OPERATION. One of the most remarkable accidents ever known—without parallel, indeed, in its peculiarity—has happened at Magnet House, which is being built in Kingsway, W.C., for tho General Electric Company, LimitedNot onlv was the accident a record in its land, but it was made the more remarkable by the fact that when the injured man was released from his terrible predicament, and was taken to Charing Oo’sh Hospital, the doctors there found themselves helpress. They had no instruments for dealing with an accident of such a kind, and they had to send for the engineer of Hie hospital who is also a plumber, to perforin the necessarv operation. George Neal, a lift engineer, living at Wimbledon, was the victim of the Occident. He was working at the bottom of a lift shaft, and while he was stooping a steel rod, some 24 feet long and half an inch thick, fell 35 feet from the fourth floor, striking him on his right shoulder, piercing his log, and pinning him to’ the ground with tho ends of the rod sticking from his shoulder and legNot until the rod had been cut off with a hack saw could he be released. It was the work of half an hour, and during all that time he was conscious. Then . lie was hurried away to the hospital. There he was found to have three and a half feet of steel in his body. The rod had entered at his Bhouldor and had come out at his knee; but, fortunately, it did not injure any vital parts in its passage. It just missed his lungs, and was guided by a muscle downwards to its exit from his knee. As already stated, the doctors found that they had no instruments for such an extraction, so sent for the engineer. He brought along some tools, including a wrench and pliers. He was fitted out in a surgeon’s white coat over his blue dungarees, and was mad© to sterilise himself and don a mask for the operating theatre.

Having fixed his wrench on to one end of the steel rod, ho pulled slowly and gently, while tho surgeons looked on and watched its removalOnly one similar instance known to the medical profession is that of a man in the United States, who was transfixed by a steel crowbar. In that case the bar entered tfie man’s skull and passed right through his body. Ho lived for some years afterwards. During the Boer War a soldier, while firing from the prone position, tasuallv put his right hand in his trouser pocket. On \vithdrawing if he was astonished to find it covered with blood. Seeking the cause, he again felt in his pocket and found a bullet. Then, to his amazement, he found that he had been shot th rough the length of his body, the bullet having passed from his shoulder to his groin. He made an excellent recovery and was soon quite well. *