Show Will fEARfUL DISASTER IN Iff MEXICAN COAL MI MINE LAREDO Tex Feb One 3 One of the greatest disasters in Ia the hist of Mexican Mex ican jean coal minin mining took place yesterday in the Palau Falau mine mino at Las Mexico The toll of human life which paid the penalty of ne negligence li ence on the part of some miner according to latest reports re reports ports is placed at sixty After au an official report showing three fifty dead twelve additional bodies were recovered brin bringing in the total up to sixty five while three others have died in the hospital makin making the grand rand total of victims thus far sixty An explosion occurred in No 3 shaft of the coal mine of the tho Esperanzas Mining company and it is attributed to the i ignition of gas from the flame of ofa a cigarette of a miner smoking contrary to the rules The miners mostly Mexicans Mexican and Japanese had assumed their places in inthe inthe inthe the different workings just after 7 o 0 clock At 0 o'clock clock those at work above aboveground aboveground aboveground ground heard a lo loud d explosion and almost al al' almost most instantly a vast cloud of dust and smoke issued from the mouth of the shaft When the onlookers realized the meaning the ot-the disaster assistance was immediately forthcoming As soon as the air in in the tho shaft could be purified sufficiently to permit rescuers to descend de do many volunteers were ready to risk their lives in an endeavor to succor succor suc sue cor car their stricken brothers below Ca Cages es were immediately sent down loaded to their capacity with miners bent upon rescuing their comrades On the first and second levels everything was found intact and the men working in these levels were safe The rescue party went down to the third level and as soon as the air could be sufficiently cleared they entered the various drifts and be began an ana a search for forthe forthe forthe the dead Scattered about in various positions in the workings they found th the bodies of the men suffocated their faces indicating the bitter fight they I had waged to reach pure air and safety The rhe rescuers worked in relays search search- searching searching ing for their dead and dy dying ng com After six hours work three fifty bodies hodies bod hod- ies ies had been brought to the surface while nearly forty injured men had been removed to hospitals The injured owe their escape to the fact that they were working where they were protected from the rush of foul air As the bodies were brought to the surface screaming women and children were congregated about the mouth of the shaft awaiting the tho rescue of loved ones oneL Most of the killed were Mexicans the Japanese miners being employed in the theother theother theother other parts of the mine mme State representatives sent a detailed report of the explosion and a deduction deduc deduc- tion as to probable cause the cause the explosion explosion explosion sion of mine damn damn to to the governor of Coahuila and Saltillo They instructed instruct instruct- ed the local authorities to take such action as they deemed necessary and to investigate thoroughly the cause of the disaster The mining company officials lost no notime notime notime time in making malting provision for the in in- An order was telegraphed to Eagle Pass and Monterey for coffins coffin for the dead and money and food has been provided for the the suffering fam lam The Palau mine is one of the best best- equipped coal mines in the republic It ft has an adequate ventilating system is provided with electric lights and mining officials are utterly at a a. loss to account for the presence of mine damp I in Number 3 workings I |