Beaver County News | 1916-09-01 | Page 2 | Blown Far by Big Blast

BLOWN FAR BY BIG BLAST i wmm Peter Rncetn, captain of a Morao lighter, sitting up In bed in the Jersey Jer-sey City hospital. Rnceta was asleep In his cabin, the be t being one of the many vessels towed away from the burning piers of Black Tom Islanj, Jersey City. When about fifty feet from the Statue of Liberty In New York bay there came the big ammunition explosion. The captain says he was thrown into the water straight from his bunk. He started swimming and found himself under one of the burning docks with flnming vessels, cars and buildings around him. He swam across the water wa-ter to the Liberty Statue and when he had gained sufficient strength he swam back to one of the piers near the scene of the explosion and was pulled out of the water and rushed to the Jersey City hoEDltal.