The Wilmington daily Republican., 1891-06-16
4 CITY OF THE DEAD
Further Details Of the Railroad
y Horror in Switzerland.
LARGELY INCREASED DEATH LIST.

The Total Number of Lives Lost
Now Placed at 12O-SeveraI Fam
lilies Practically Wiped Out of Ex-
istencc-Sad Scenes on the River
Bank.
BERSE, June 10.-Further details re-
ceived from the scene of the terrible
railroad accident which occurred at
village near Bale, on the Menchenstein
and Bale railroad, show that two en-
gines and three carriages loaded with
excursioRists fell into the stream which
flowed beneath the iron bridge, which
gave way and caused the disaster.
These carriages and engines now form
ashapeless heap of wreckage benc ath
the bridge structure, and by its own size
prevented two other carriages, which
were suspended practically in the air,
from falling, and still increasing
the number bf killed and wounded.
Over Hundred Dead.
The total numb er of people who lost
their lives is now placed at 120, with
hundreds more or less injured. OF the
large number Of persons injured, many
have suffered so seriously that it is con-
Bidered likely that their injuries will
terminate fatally, as they consist of bad
lacerations, and in some cases limbs
have been completely severed.
Engineers who have inspected the
bridge since its collapse say that the
Iron work Of the structure alone gave
way, and that the masonry work is in
tact The musical fete at Mmnchen-
stein, to which the excursionists were
bound, was abandoned rs soon as the
news of the accident was received, and
hundreds of villagers hurried to the
scene TO assist in rescuing the victims.
The bridge was an iron skeleton struc-
ture, which was considered well built
and substantial. The only apparent rea-
+ son for the collapse OF the bridge is that
the train left the rails and threw its en-
tire weight on one side of the bridge.
A City of the Dead.
Scenes which were truly heartrender-
ing were witnessed in this city when
the bodies of q large number of the vic
Tins were brought here. Several fami-
lies were practically wiped entirely out
of existence by the disaster, the full ex-
tent of which is not known yet Bale is
now truly city of mourning, place of
the dead, and the scene of bitter desola-
tion and mourning Nearly every family
In the city may be said to have been
touched by the calamity.
The work of the soldiers dragging the
river was greatly impeded by the fact
that the stream is considerably swollen.
Thus the waters carried many of the
bodies long way down the river, SO
much so that it is expected that several
days of such dredging work will be re-
quired before the soldiers work will be
completed.
0hastly as the broken bridge and its
envirous were during the work Just de-
scribed there was one cornerof the dark
picture which was the centerof interest.
This spot was the improvised morgue on
she river bank, where the dead bodies
were taken and tenderly laid in rows by
the soldiers. Close to this place of the
dead were two huge fires of fir trees,
and bivouac of infantry soldiers, who
furnished guard from their number,
who, with fixed bayonets, formed q
square of sentinels around the dead, ad-
mitting within their lines only those
who were actually in search of missing
l,elatiyea