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Show FIFTY KILLED II TANK EXPLOSION SPARK FROM HAMMER IGNITES FUMES FROM LEAKY TANK AND CAUSES DISASTER. At Least Two Hundred Citizens Injured In-jured as Result of Accident, Many Buildings Being Shook Down or Destroyed by Flames. Ardmore, Okla. Between twenty-five twenty-five and llfty persons are dead and at least 200 were injured, most of them dongerously, Monday afternoon when a 2fi0-barrel tank cut of gasoline standing near the Santa Fe freight office in the business district exploded. explod-ed. The tremendous force of the explosion ex-plosion shook down many buildings and threw burning gasoline in every direction. A few minutes later the whole town was at the mercy of a score of fires. At 0:30 the fires were all under control and the city was placed under martial law. A spark from a hammer ignited gas tunics through a small leak in the tank and caused the explosion, it was stated. Two workmen- were busy on the tank at the time. Both were killed. Among the dead are: Charles R. Smith, former member of the police force, who was standing on Main street near the explosion and was killed 'by falling stones; M. E. Atkins, a drayman who was standing almost three blocks from the explosion; A. G. Gould, a fruit peddler who was driving across the Santa Fe tracks near the explosion, his horse being killed and his wagon blown to pieces, and an Indian sitting on his wagon east of the Love hotel. His team and wagon were crushed when the east side of the building fell. Immediately after the explosion homes were thrown open to the in-juded in-juded and a score of men began searching in the smouldering ruins in the main part of the town for victims. vic-tims. The Santa Fe freight station was wrecked and was burned to the ground. The union passenger station is almost a total wreck. The express office was partially wrecked. |