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Show 8IE BALLOON BURSTS; TWO FATALLY HURT Force of Explosion Knocks Down Spectators, Who Are Thrown Into Panic. REDDING, Cal., July 3. In the presence of scvoral thousand spectators tho dirigible balloon "America" suddenly sud-denly exploded at a Ideal rocrcation park this afternoon, fatally injuring Captain .James Moore, the aeronaut, and Milton Mygatt, a bystander. Sovcral spectators wero knocked down and soriously hurt ns tho immense im-mense crowd made a rush to get away from the scene of tho accident. Moore has a broken pelvis, a fractured right hip and right arm, and two-thirds of tho surface of his body is frightfully burned. Mygatt, who is SO years old, was thrown to tho ground with such force by tho explosion that he sustained sus-tained a fractured hip. Neither man is expected to recover. Captain Mooro was making the first of three ascensions or flights that he had contracted to make here. Attached to the huge gas bag was a small basket-like basket-like framework, carrying a small engine that furnished the power for the propeller. pro-peller. Tho dirigiblo was about fifty foot above tho ground, and Captain Mooro had just exclaimed: "Hero goes for a successful flight or a trip to hell," when the revolving propeller caught in the bag and tore a hugo hole in the covering, from which volumes of gas poured out. The aeronaut quicks realized the danger, but before ho could stop the engino or drop out of tho basket, the gas ignited from the motor sparker. There was a flash and a roar, the force of which threw many people to the ground. The crowd became panic-stricken panic-stricken and trampled a number of people under their feet. Moore and Mygatt wero hurried to a hospital, but littlo hope for their recovery is held out by the attending physicians. Captain Mooro came hero from Los Angeles. |