A HARROWING STORY.
The following tale of the disaster avus told to a Sydney Morning Herald report by Mr Ringrose, one of the rescuers:- — "I was asleep in my tent not ten yards from the line, and just opposite the scene of the collision, when I was awakened by the crash. jumped up and ran out, and soon saw what was wrong, and ran to help. I climbed on to the, wreckage and released three persons from amongst the wreckage. One of these was a woman who had a leg and most of her fingers cut right off. "We put her on a stretcher and carried her to the platform and put her in the ladies' waiting-room. She was then living, but past all human aid. and died a few minutes after we laid her down. When we returned to the train, I got up on the carriage and began to feel about to see if any more were alive.
1 passed my hand over six people, but they were all dead. Then I put my hand on a man's face, and he moaned, mid I knew he was alive.
"He asked me to hit him on the head and kill him to relieve him of his : misery. 'I've only a few minutes to live. My father, sister, and wife are all dead.' Do me the favour. I've nothing to live for.' I said 'I can't.' What more could I say? Then I put a cushion under his head. There was a lady lying right against him, but she was dead. Then Ganger Jeffries got a lifting jack, and he raised the carriage off the bodies, and got the man out alive. "Just as we were lifting him he caught hold of .the lady's hand and pulled it towards him. I took the bag from the lady's hand, and the man lifted her hand to his face and kissed it. "That was the bag they have boon speaking about. I turned around, and saw a man in uniform near me. 1 think lie was a constable; so I gave him the bag. I have since heard that it is in the hands of the authorities. "Then we got the poor chnp out of the Avreck. lie shook hands with us all, and thanked us That is all, except that when the relief train came up from Moss "Vale we got the lifting jack from the vngine and got the rest of them out.''
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Bibliographic details
Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 11936, 25 March 1914, Page 5
Word Count
413A HARROWING STORY. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 11936, 25 March 1914, Page 5
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