KILLED IN TUNNEL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16988, 12 March 1923, Page 7

KILLED IN TUNNEL.

WOMAN MUTILATED BADLY. DIFFICULTY OF IDENTIFICATION. A woman named Amy K. Fifield, fifty years of age, a school teacher of Ldsnaore, fell off the ferry train at the Heathcote end of the tunnel on Saturday night, and was killed instant!-/ Until this morning tiic body had not j been definitely identified, the only clue ! being a report from tho Ashburton ! Police that Miss Fifield wa s missing, and the discovery on deceased's doming of the initials “ A.E.F.” Miss Fifield has a brother, Mr John Fifield, residing at Woodbury, near Geraldine, and he came to Christchurch to-day to identity the body. | No one actually saw the accident. : happen but on the arrival of the ferry 1 train at Lyttelton a passenger, Mr* j Mitchell, reported to the stationmaster I that a woman had gone out on to tho carriage platform shortly alter tlio train left the Heathcote station and had not returned to the carriage. A ticket collector, Mr Burrows, also stated that he thought he felt tho carriage bump something just after tlu train left Heathcote. A lady who was a passenger in tho same second-class compartment as Miss Fifield stated that the deceased was sitting on a seat next to the door of the carriage and that just prior to the train entering the tunnel she left the carriage rather hurriedly as if she were feeling unwell and went- out on to the carriage platform. Almost immediately tine lady noticed a. slight bump as if the carriage had run over a stone. She was reading a paper, and she took no further notice of the matter. On arrival of the express at the ferry wharf she noticed that there were two suit eases on the seat which had been occupied by the lady who left the carriage at the entrance of the tunnel. Remembering the bump, at the entrance of the tunnel she immediately reported to the guard what had come under her notice. Inspector Coote. who was travelling by the second express to Lyttelton.

also felt the bump, but was unable to stop the train to investigate as it was already partly in the tunnel. On nearing the Lyttelton railway station he signalled to the station officials and informed them that he thought somebody might have dropped off the train. Mr Herdman. railway foreman at Lyttelton, immediately telephoned to Mr Parker, who was on duty at the signal box near the entrance to the tunnel at Lyttelton, who in turn communicated with the signal box at Heathcote. asking the signalman to ascertain whether anyone had fallen off the train at the entrance to the tunnel. The Heathcote signalman took immediate step si to block the 7.50 p.m. train from Christchurch while he made a search. He found the body of a woman lying in the middle of the railway track, face upwards, and dreadfully mutilated. On arrival of the 7.50 p.m. train from Christchurch at Heathcote the bod}' was placed in the guard’s van and later removed to the Lyttelton casualty ward. There was nothing amongst the woman’s belongings to show her identity, with the exception that her luggage was labelled “ Miss E. Bennett.” and a brooch she was wearing bore the inscription, “ Presented to Miss A. E. Fifield by the West Taratahi School Committee.” The luggage had been stored at the Ashburton railway station on Saturday morning anrl taken away again in the afternoon. This makes it fairly clear that she must have got on the express at Ashburton, and it is evident that deceased intended proceeding north by the ferry steamer, though she had no steamer ticket. Yesterday, upon a-further inspection being made, the initials ‘‘A.E.F.” were discovered upon some of her clothing. The police also ascertained that a Miss Fifield had drawn some money from the bank and this corresponded with the fact that over £3O was found on the body. A bag found near the body contained a left luggage ticket issued at Ashbur-

ton on Saturday and a spectacle case with the maker’s name, Frank Curtis, optician, Ashburton. Mr H. Y. Widdowson opened an inquest last evening, but as sufficient evidence was not available, and the bodv had not been identified, the proceedings were adjourned. An inquest will he opened this evening for identification purposes.