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Show FORTY IIIS Explosion in Mnlga, Alabama, Mine Practically Cuts Off Chance of Escape. CAGES WRECKED AND " RESCUE WORK DELAYED Wives and Children of Imprisoned Im-prisoned Men Cling to Hope of Saving Them. BIRMINGHAM. Ala.. April 20. Of the forty men entombed in tho Mulga mine of tho Rinnlngluun Railway Coal and Iron cbmpany at Mulga, Ala., by an explosion ex-plosion at 9 o'clock hist night, it Is believed be-lieved all are dead. Tho cages In tho shaft of the mine were so badly sprung by the force of the explosion that they are useless, and all other mcaiin adopted by rescue parlies par-lies ln an effort to reach the entombed men have proved futile. There are fifteen fif-teen white and twenty-five negro laborers labor-ers In the mine. Following tho explosion, flames shot up the mine shaft 100 feet and the ground Is covered with charrod limbers, which were blown from the bottom of a HD0-foot HD0-foot shaft by tho explosion-Still explosion-Still Some Hopo. Every window ln the little mining villa vil-la go was broken. After the explosion, timbers were placed over the mouth of the shaft to prevent a draft, as It was feared the Interior of tho mine might bo on fire, but as far. as known there hits been no fire, and as air was nt onco pumped Into tho mine the families of the entombed men arc still hopeful that some. If not all. will be rescued alive. The hospital car of tho Tennessee Mining company, containing gas helmets and all other necessary paraphernalia, has been sent to the scene. With the arrival of the car and the completion of a temporary cage, It Is hoped resetters may be. lowered by :i o'clock Thursday morning. Mulgu has only one telegraph lino to Ensley. the. nearest town, over which communication tonight Is almost Impossible, Impos-sible, and details of tho catastrophe) are meager. The oanso of the explosion is unknown. James 13onneyman' of Birmingham, general manager of the Birmingham Coal and Iron company, left for Mulga shortly after mmnlgnt to lake personal charge of the rescue work. Mulea Ik about twelve miles norlhwest of Birmingham. |