Dozens of families mourned openly upon hearing the news that family members had drowned in a horrific incident. The men had been cleaning a water tube that aided in power supply when the water levels rose, causing panic and chaos.Thirty-three men died, while 17 made it out alive.

Published Monday, July 2, 2001

The Bog Walk tube

The early morning of June 24, 1904, dawned clear and crisp. In Spanish Town, St Catherine, and other areas outside of Kingston, men and women were lined up waiting to catch their tram to work as usual. They waited and waited, until they realised it was not coming. The lucky ones caught rides in wagonettes and buggies; the unlucky set out on foot.

 No one was quite sure what had happened - only that there had been a temporary delay that would soon be fixed. By the time eight o’clock rolled around, wild rumours had begun to circulate about a horrible accident at the Bog Walk Power Station that had affected the tram car system run by the West India Electric Company.

 It was said that up to 80 men who had been cleaning silt and debris in the eight-foot-long cast iron pipe (also known as a flume) that carried water from the Rio Cobre River to the power station, had been washed into the turbines and drowned. The collection of silt and debris was not uncommon, nor was the need for it to be removed so as not to inhibit the flow of water, and therefore hydroelectric power. Nothing like this had ever happened before. By 9 o’clock, railway stations, newspaper offices, anywhere information could possibly be found, were packed with anxious enquirers. Much later, the only news to be had was that 33 coffins had been ordered sent out to Bog Walk by train. A police squad was also deployed to keep the calm at the scene.

 In Bog Walk, by this time, crowds had gathered at the power station.

According to Dr Hammond, who was called to the scene, it was one he would never forget as long as he lived: "Men, women and children lying on the ground, rolling over, clutching handfuls of grass, stones and earth, and screaming aloud in the last extremities of mental agony" as they searched for their loved ones, who seemed to be lost to them forever. At that time, 33 were believed dead and 17 missing. A few hours later, it was confirmed that the 17 had managed to escape through a manhole near the dam itself.

 At one o’clock in the morning, 61 men had gone down into the huge pipe, located about 15 yards from the power station. The pipe curved slightly upwards and then sharply downwards, running directly into the power station itself. The men encountered about a foot of water and got down to work as usual. Colin McDonald, one of the survivors, in speaking to a Gleaner reporter at the scene, explained that within an hour of going into the pipe he felt the water level rise, but he didn’t think it was anything to worry about. It couldn’t have been coming from the dam, because the dam was closed. It was always closed when the men were working in the pipes. But the water kept rising slowly but surely, and by 4 a.m., the men started to panic. Their supervisor, a Mr Douparrouzel, apparently tried to keep his men calm by telling them there was plenty of time to get out – there was an exit closer to the dam. But his men panicked and threw their torches into the water, so then they were all covered in darkness. Soon it was said a man appeared at the manhole with a torch lighting the way and calling to the men.Twenty- eight managed to get out in the over 20 minutes it took for the water to fill the pipe. If they had listened and remained calm, site reports reveal, that 20 minutes could have saved 300 men, instead of 33 dying

According to Gleaner records of the event, Douparrouzel, distraught by the experience and trying his best to come to terms with this catastrophe, could only seem to say that the water must have, over time, swelled to the point where it rushed over the sand and debris to flood the pipe. Although no one lived to tell this tale, it is believed that three of the men located in a very narrow section of the pipe, panic-stricken, Douparrouzel explained, had tried to exit through a two-foot eight-inch-wide manhole at the same time and effectively formed a human plug, entombing all 30 behind them. These 33 were found drowned, all heaped together, their clothes torn, their faces and bodies completely mutilated.

 Within a few days, the tramcar system was back in operation. Meanwhile, families who had lost fathers, brothers, and cousins tried to come to terms with their losses.

Although the West India Electric Company behaved very sympathetically towards the families, helping to organise funeral services and financial retribution, the general feeling was that someone had blundered somewhere for that level of water to have appeared. Ensuing investigations ruled the catastrophe an accident, a small consolation to the many who suffered great losses.

Today, the Bog Walk power station stands closed. In the 1930s, the tramcar system was replaced by a bus system. The tram lines were uprooted and replaced with wider roads. Some lines, such as the one at Cross Roads, do still exist. As for the large pipe in which so many drowned, only a shell remains, preserving the memory of the catastrophe on that June 24 morning.

HYDROELECTRIC POWER - Turning water’s mechanical energy into electricity.

Since the time of ancient Egypt, people have used the energy in flowing water to operate machinery. However, hydropower had a greater influence on people’s lives during the 20th century than at any other time in history. Hydropower played a major role in making the wonders of electricity a part of everyday life and helped spur industrial development. Hydropower continues to produce 24 per cent of the world’s electricity and supply more than one billion people with power.

 How Hydropower Works

 Hydropower converts the energy in flowing water into electricity. The quantity of electricity generated is determined by the volume of water flow and the amount of ’head’ (the height from turbines in the power plant to the water surface) created by the dam. The greater the flow and head, the more electricity produced.

A typical hydropower plant includes a dam, reservoir, penstocks (pipes), a powerhouse and an electrical power substation. The dam stores water and creates the head; penstocks carry water from the reservoir to turbines inside the powerhouse; the water rotates the turbines, which drive generators that produce electricity. The electricity is then transmitted to a substation, where transformers increase voltage to allow the transmission to homes, businesses and factories.

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