OCR Text |
Show MERER SCENE OF Ml BLAST GAS EXPLOSION FOLLOWED BY BOTH BLACK AND WHITE IS CLAIMED CAUSE Known Death Toll Reaches Ninety. Five; Rescuers 'Penetrating Walls Of Debris Thrown Down By of Heavy Explosion Kemmerer, Wyo. Fighting their way through the partially dismantled portions of Frontier mine No. 1 of the Kemmerer Coal company, one mile from here, scene of an explosion shortly after S o'clock Tuesday morning, morn-ing, rescue workers had brought out alive thirty-seven of the 13S miners entombed by the blast. It is feared that 100 men, still unaccounted for. have perished. It is the concensus of opinion among the rescue workers at the mine that the tragedy was the result of a gas explosion followed by both white and black damp. Some of the rescued miners claim to have seen a tongue of flame shoot from the extreme low-levels low-levels when the blast occurred, while others were of contrary opinion. There was no official announce, nient made to the cause of the disaster. disas-ter. The down town undertaking establishment es-tablishment and the I. O. O. F. hail to which the bodies of the dead min-ers min-ers were brought from the scene of the disaster were crowded Wednesday w-ith relatives and friends seeking to establish the identity of their loved ones. As yet there is no authentic list of either dead, missing or rescued, dne to the great confusion which pre-Tailed pre-Tailed since the explosion. Authorities Authori-ties said they had not been able to make a completely accurate check on the employees who were working In the mine when the blast came. A first aid station was established at the mouth of the mine, and as the survivors came out they were given emergency treatment. A corps of six doctors, twelve nurses and Bed Cross workers remained at the portal throughout the day. In the mine, the crew of car No. 2 of the United States bureau of mines assisted rescuers res-cuers and directed in first aid to the victims who had been overcome by gas and smoke. The rescuers passed through the workings as hurriedly as possible, searching only for the living. The dead were found scattered throughout the main slope, but their bodies were not touched until 0 o'clock Wednesday night, when the task of bringing them to the surface began, after hopes were abandoned of finding any more men alive. Indications were that those who had survived had taken shelter In rooms off the passageways through which tlie smoke and gas from the explosion swept, and either had Iain on the floor or bratticed off areas which were kept free fr.m gas. Scores apparently bad thrown down their tools and rushed from the rooms only to be met by almost Instant In-stant death as the wave of ga3 enveloped en-veloped them. The bodies of nearly all the victims vic-tims were hlaoki ned as if by dense smoke. As rapidly as they were brought to the surface they were taken tak-en to the morgue, whore they wore Identified and preparations made for burial. |