AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPLOSION.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3495, 17 November 1894, Page 11

AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPLOSION.

An explosion of a really remarkable nature took place in Melbourne the otherday, and some of the effects produced were unique in the history of such occurrences. In connection with the main drainage works of the city, it becameue«essary to sink a big shaft in ground that was 'creepy.' With water and moving sand to contend against, there was only one course that could very well be adopted, and that was to sink iron cylinders as the excavation proceeded. But as the sand and water soon began to rush in from the bottom, it was decided toseal up the bottom section of the cylinder, and pump it full of air up to a pressure of 2;)lb to the square inch. One afternoon two men were working at the bottom of the shaft, a telegraph messenger was dangling his legs at the top, and a little' girl was playing close by. Just then the cylinder of compressed air exploded, with' such tremendous force that one piece of iron, weighing 2cwt, went hurling skyward, and fell one hundced yards away from the shaft, The messenger boy was thrown upwards and away from the shaft, ind'the little girl was rolled intothe water channel. But the extraordinary thing was the way in which the workmen' were effected. They were at the bottom of the shaft at the time of the explosion, but the force of the escaping air liftedthem nearly to the top, It held them in that position for a space, and then losing . in power gradually, it gently lowered* them, they all the time describing somersaults, about half-way down again, when' first one and then the other was fortunateenough to clutch at the iron ladder and hold on until the disturbed atmosphere had regained something like the ordinaryconditions. The fright, fortunately, was the worst they suffered,