OCR Text |
Show COAL MINERS MAT STILL JIE ALIVE Inspectors Reach Bottom of Deep Shaft in Eccles Mine Little Gas Found. MINE NOT ON FIRE More Rescue Men Go Down With Hope of Finding 187 Entombed Men. Eccies, W. Ya., April 30. Fifty or more miners today sought out the bod ies of 172 minors entombed In mine No. 5 of the New River Collieries company since Tuesday. Six bodies were found at the bottom of the shaft. Others located will not be brought out until tonight. Reports from the mine were that many bod-1 les had been found, but so far there was no Indication any of the miners' had escaped the explosion and Its! deadly after-damp. Eccles, W. Va., April 30. After twenty-four hours of exhuastive effort. ef-fort. Chief Henry and a party of West Virginia mine inspectors early today reached the bottom of shaft No a of the N ew River Colliers com pany, where 187 miners were buried by an oxplosiou last Tuesday. Thev found little gas and no damp and expressed ex-pressed the belief that conditions were such thai some of the entombed miners may be still alive. All night long the inspectors work- ed in the shaft, 125 feet from the I I bottom, clearing away the debris and 1 I straightening the leads on which the1 I cage is operated The best workmen in the whole district were called Into1 service but It was da break when thoi news came from the tipple that the cage was on its way to the bottom. The Inspection was brief, and the tired inspectors were hoisted to the top to prepare for further exploration that was to begin as soon as the res-1 cue men could be taken down Chief Henry said he did not think the mine was on fire at any point. Many of the mines in the district closed yesterday and the miners and their families joined the people of Eccles in their weary wait for news. Many miners have been deputized by the sheriff to assist In keeping back the crowds. Governor Hatfield who returned to Charleston last night, is expected here today, and will personally assume as-sume charge or the doctors. Chief Engineers Arrive. Soon after 8 o'clock. .1 W. Paul, chief engineer of the Pittsburg sta-I sta-I tion of the bureau of mines, descend-J descend-J cd the shaft in company with govern- ment rescue men from the other two crews here. They had proceeded only a short distance from the bottom bot-tom when they found six bodies hud died together, and so badly burned that Identification was Impossible Further on they located other bodies and a man was sent to the surface to prepare the crowd for the news. Soon after the first bodies were hoisted out and placed in a temporary morgue The crowd made a rush for the tipple, tip-ple, but was held back by deputy sheriffs and guards. Fans were started in the hope that the entries could he cleared of such gas as remained after the explosion and the pumps were set In motion so that the rscue parties could reach the fatherest recesses of the mine. |