Connecticut western news., 1893-11-09
A TOWN WRECKED.
MANY PERSONS KILLED BY A DYNA-
 MITE EXPLOSION.
The Town of Santandsr, on the Spanish Coast, the Scene of Awful HAvoc-A Ship In Which 1,a0O Cases of the Explosive Were Stored Caught Fire at the Quay.


 In Which 1,ao0 Cases of the Explosivs
 Were Stored Caught Fire at the Quay.
 Copyright. 1893. by the Associated Pressl
 BILBAO, Nov. 6.-The seamen who es raped from the i'll fated dynamite laden steamer Cabo Machichaco, which caused the fearful disaster at Santander, have ar rived here after having been blown up in that vessel and thrown a great distance out to sea, falling among mass of burn ing wreckage. These sailors swRm for a long time after touching the water and eventually reached the shore on the other aide of the harbor, from whence they were driven to this city. One of the seamen gives the following account of the disaster:
 "We did not know that there was any dynamite on board beyond the 20 cases which were landed at the outbreak of the fire. A few moments before the explosion my mate hurried on deck, crying out that everybody should leave the ship and clear off the quay, as the fire was reaching dyna- mite.
 Every one then hastened over the gang way, but while so doing the explosion over took us, and we were thrown into the sea. When fell into the water after having been up in the air for what seemed to me quite a time, caught hold of plank and swam away"
 Hurled Into the Sea Another eyewitness of the disaster says that he saw at least 30 bodies thrown into the sea, and that among them were many nurses carrying children in their arms.
 It is asserted that the Cabo Machichaco had 200 cases of dynamite on board. and the authorities of Bilbao, where the i'll fated steamer sailed from and hailed from, are said to have been aware of the ship ment of 1,750 kilograms of dynamite and suppose that the 20 cases landed belonged to Santander consignees. The burning debris set fire to the railway station at Solares, IS miles distant from Santander. Fifty private houses were de stroyed by the flames In addition to these losses several important public buildings and valuable archives were burned before any headway could be gained over the fire. Among the victims were the civil gov ernor, several judges, the captain of the port, hisrdauahter, the coionels command ing the troops and gendarmes, several gov ernment officials, officers, magistrates, po- licemen, soldiers and the Marquis Casap- tonlbo. Many bodies have been recovered from the bay of Biscay and from the ruins. Of the great number of victims, some were found quietly sleeping in death, while
 
 | torn from their bodies. Larg 4 bers of the dead had been horribly V .rvd by the flames, and identiicaticL or tLeii charred bodies was impossible.
 Civil and military engineers declare that never before have the effects of dynamite been so appalling or 50 varied in chHrac- ter. Divers who have explored the bot tom of the bay of Biscay in various places have found many human remains. The latest accounting shows that 800 persons were killed and 450 wounded.
 Mad With Terror.
 The effect of the explosion upon the in- habitants of Santander was bswildering in it's intensity. For some time after the dis aster the people were positively stunned with dismay and horror, and then followed panic, during which 100 people ar. re ported to have gone stark mad, while the vast majority were 80 paralyzed with fear and shock that they were incapable of nov ing to the assistance of the dying or of making any effort to extinRuish the flames which sprang up from mass of buildings and which began to spread with the most threatening rapidity.
 Thousands abandoned their homes after the explosion, sli the shops were closed, and all the energies of the people seemed to be at a standstill for long time after the ex- plosion, and many ot them are still so pros Lrated that their death is anticipated as result of the fright which they sustained The number of people who have lost their senses through the explosion Is very great, and it is openly asserted that hundreds of people have completely gone out of their | minds and will have to be confined in asy- lums for the remainder of their lives. MADRID, Nov. 7.-According to the latest | figures ITS persons were killed by the ex- plosion at Santander. It Is impossible to | say how many ure missing