A SHOCKING ACCIDENT.

West Coast Times, 14 June 1912, Page 1

A SHOCKING ACCIDENT.

MAN FALLS SEVENTY FEET,

WELLINGTON, June 11,

-A shocking accident with a fatal termination occurred in Grey Street at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday, when Robert M’Aleer, a window cleaner, employed by the Public Works Department, fell from a fifth storey window of Nathan’s buildings to the road below, and died in the hospital shortly after admission.

Mr. M’Aleer, with Messrs A. Parker (overseer), and G. Rod, of the Public Works Department’s staff of window cleaners, were engaged in cleaning the windows of the Post and Telegraph’s offices, on the fifth floor of Nathan’s Buildings, at the corner of Grey and Featherston Streets. The windows of the rooms that were being cleaned are especially designed to make the task -of cleaning them safe and easy. They consist of one largo sash, which when unlocked at the side, swings inwards on hinges which connect the sash with the bottom of the frame. Mr. M’Aleer had cleaned one of these windows in the chief clerk’s room of the mechanical' branch of the Post and Telegraph Department, in tho ordinary manner (from within), and then set about the task of cleaning another. This one, however, ho could not clean very well, owing to a fixed shelf obstructing the fall of tho window, so he must have decided to do his work from the outside. To do this ho clambered out by the open window he had already cleaned, and was in tho act of climbing round tho panel of masonry which divided the two windows when ho fell. Tho sill slants downwards at an anglo of nearly 45 degrees, and forms no foothold, and it is thought that the deceased relied on some support from a couple of stout telegraph cables which lead from tho roof of tho General Post Office to tho windows in question, and so to tho apartments within. This is borne out by the footmarks scraped in tho concrete sill by tho deceased on tho one side of the cables and the marks of the man’s last despairing grip on the sill on tho other side.

The danger of the unfortunate man’s position was noticed by his fellow rcleaner, Mr. Rod, who, alive to the risk deceased was taking, called out to tho overseer (Mr Parker) from tho door of the room a fraction of a second before the fall—too late, of course, to do anything.

In his descent the man struck a loner ledge of the building,( and also the street electric lighting wires. When picked up he was still breathing. Medical assistance was summoned as quickly as possible, and Dr. Pollen was soon on tho scene. Ho at once ordered tho man’s removal to the hospital, where ho died a few minutes after ho was admitted.

Mr. M’Aleev was a single man of about twenty-five years of age. Ho resided at Kensington boardinghouse, Newtown.

Both the overseer (Mr. Parker) ami Mr Hod state that they could not understand deceased taking such a risk. Ho had been in the employ of tho Public Works Department for about six weeks, and on three previous occasions had cleaned tho samo windows in Nathan’s Buildings. They agreed in attributing deceased’s action in getting outside to his being unable to open the window inwards on account of tho shelf.