The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-06-16
SCENES OF SORROW.
The City Of Basle Nearly Made
DGSOlatG.
Whole Families Wiped Cut by The Rail-
way Accident.
Over One Hundred Killed and as Many
Wounded Searching the Swollen Stream
for The Dead Bodies.
spccial to The MORNING CALL.

BERNE, June 15-The latest reports con-
eerning the terrible railway accident that
occurred yesterday on the Moenchen, Stein
and Basle Railway place the total number
of people who lost their lives at 100, with
over 100 persons more or less injured. 1t is
feared many are dead whose bodies have
not been found. The victims are mostly
leading citizens of Basle and its neighbOr
hood. The disaster occurred thr ugh the
collapse of bridge across the MOenchen, a
small affluent of the Rhine, at Stein, in the
Canton of Basle, which went down beneath
heavily loaded excursion train on its way
to a musical fee. The fearful calamity has
caused terrible shock in Switzerland and
South Germany ReScuers hastened to the
scene and the injured were taken care of.
SCENES OF DEsoLATION.
Base IS now the scene of bitter desOlatiOn
and mourning. Nearly every family in the
city may be said to have been touched by
the calamity, for those families who have
not actually lost one of their members have
dear friends or acquaintances, either among
the dead or among those who are mourning
the loss of relatives. Those who were
wounded include so many serious injuries
that almost each hour records another
death or another case in which the physi-
clans have given up all hope Of saving the
patients life.
WHOLE FAMILIES WIPED OUT.
Scenes which were heartrending were
witnessed in Base to-day, when the bodies
of a large number of the victims were
taken there by sOrrowug relatives, for the
representatives. of a majority of the best
families OF Basle were among the killed and
injured. Several families were practically
wiped ont of existence by the disaster, the
full extent of which is not known even at
this hour
THE HORROR OF THE DISASTER.
Shortly after the first horror of the crash
ing of the engines and cars through the
bridge and into the swiftly running stream
had died away, the survivors saw a scene
which rivaled in horror the most heartrend-
ing features of the Johnstown disaster.
Beneath what remained of the bridge was a
hideous mass of broken car timber, car
wheels, engines, etc. intermingled with still
qu'yering heads, beSpattered with blood and
brains, proiruding arms and legs, bloody
garments Of all descriptions. hats and bon
nets, umbrellas and paraSOls. hands and
feet, while floating down the stream were
numbers of dead bodies and family strug-
Cling men. women and children. few now
and then uttering horrible cries. After the
first moment Of tile inaction which followed
the revelation OF this horror, the survivors
did their utmost to rescue those whose lives
were in danger The work of pulling those
who remained in the two suspended cars
from the perilous position IN which they
were placed was one OF great danger and
difficulty, and resulted in a number of in-
stances of heroic conduct
THE GRIEF STRICKEN RELATIVES.
In the meanwhile messengers were dis
patched on all sides for medical relief,
which was most urgently needed by hun
dreds OF wounded people, whose distressing
cries for help and prayers TO God asking him
10 relieve them of their sufferings were most
heaTtrendjng, and when the relatives of the
dead ami wounded began to arrive and
Identified some of the victims there was
another most awful series of incidents.
The widest grief was expressed on all
sides; weeping and mourning filled the air,
and several people were with difficulty re-
strained from casting themselves headlong
into the stream, As night drew near enOr-
nous crowds of'c0untry people and citizens
of Basic gathered around the fatal spot, tax
ing the power of the military to the utmost
in th- efforts of these people to get nearer
and closer view of the horrors piled beneath
the bridge To such extent did this desire
prevail that crowds of people initiated the
soldiers. fremen and railroad men and
bivOuacked all night in the vicinity of the
remains Of the broken bridge.
THE WORK OF THE REsCUERs.
Everything the local aud municipal au-
thorities can do to help the wounded, re-
cover the dead or assist those in distress is
bring done. Clergymen, priests and physi-
clans and large force Of troops and ire
men and scores Of vehicles, to be used as
ambuances, have been dispatched to the
scene of the wreck Troops and iremen are
buSily engaged in removing the wTeckage,
recovering the bodies of the dead and trans
porting the wounded TO their homes OF to
the hospitals. The physicians and minis
ters Of the Gospel are doing noble work in
administering to the wounded and comfort
ing the bereayed.
SEARCHING THE RIVER.
The neighborhood of the collapsed bridge
now resembles in many features the after
episodes of a battle or the closing acts in
some waTiike struggle. Still more so was
this the case last night, when the river
banks were Illuminated by huge fires. The
troops and tiFemen are working increasingly
dragging the river for the dead, nursing the
wounded and keeping guard around the
spots where II was not thought advisable to
admit the crowds Of people who had 1ocked
10 the scene from every village in the can
ton.
The work of the soldiers in dragging the
river is greatly impeded by the fact that the
stream is considerably swollen by melting
snow. Thus the waters have carried away
many bodies, and several days of dredging
Hill be required before the soldiers work
will be completed. That Somebody" is to
blame fOrthe accident nobody doubts, but
the people are so taken up with their pres
cnt duty that the question of blame is post
poned for tie present from official consider
alton.