The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-06-24
DEATH IN THE PIT.
Eighty Persons Believed to Have Been
Killed by Explosion in q Mime.

CARDIFF. Wales. June GA dispatch
from Ponty PIidd, Glamorgan, says ter
rible explosion occurred this afternoon III
the Albion collisry, near that city. Two
hundred miners were buried beneath the
debris Of the mine. II IS estimated eighty
miners were killed eithei BY the explosion
or by the falling earth aud rock. Several
parties OF volunteers IN the work OF rescue
descended into the pit this evening. Every
possible effort is being made 10 save the
imprisoned miners who are yet alive and 10
r. scus the b0dirs of the dead None Of
the rsscuing parties which went down
tonight have yet returned and this Is
taken to indicate that great difficulty y
being met IN reaching the pace where the
miuers are entombed. The entire popuia
zion OF Cilfyndd aud hundreds OF persons
from Pouty bTldd and other places IN he
vicinity gathered about the mouth of the
pits, anx.ously waiting TOR news from be
low.
A dozen or more boys are among the
number eutombed. Late tonight some OF
the rescuers came TO the surface aud ex-
planned that they had penetrated loo yards
into the miue and found i've men alive but
badly injured. They also found thirteen
men who had been killed. This in
formation spread rapidly among the crowd
as the pits mouth aud they grew la
"
relatives 10 the mine asked with Eager,
strained faces il they were among the
dead. or course no information could be
vouchsafed then. as the mine officials did
not know the names OF the killed. and
most of he bodies were 50 badly burned
that Identification by the rescnlng party
under the din light Of their lamps was
impossible. Five men were brought up
the shaft soon possible aud the doc
tors who were present did everything in
their power TO alleviate their sufferings.
Shortly after the five live men were
brought up, the bodies of those found near
them were raised 10 the surface ami placed
in shed near the mouth of tue pit. Here
several of them were identified by their
clothing.
While the crowd was assembled about
the shed, twenty men and boys IN a semi
conscious condition were brought up.
They had apparently not been injured by
the explosion but had inhaled the after
damp. Had they not been found when
they we're there is no doubt they would
have been suffocaied.
As the night advanced the impression
grew that the loss OF life would be greatly
in excess OF the first estimates. The res
cuers who have come 70 the surface report
they have seen number OF bodies so
pinned under the debris that it is impOssi-
BILE as yet to extricaie them. They also
say tDat, Judging lrom tue appearances OF
the faces of the bodies, that death in many
cases was caused by after damp. This gas
is hindering the work OF the rescuers. the
fans as yet not having succeeded IN freeing
a he pis o; il. In the further workings the
ventilation of which has been almost COM
pletely destroyed. the gas must be prssen:
in large quantities and this fact initiates
against any hope Of saving the men i'm
prisoned there.
IA. m.-More bodies were discovered
and brought out sfter midnight. Many
of them were so terribly scalded that the
flesh almost dropped OF CT them. pecessl-
tating their being handled most carefully.
1t is more than probable that large per-
centsge OF the dead will never be identi-
fed. The work OF clearing the debris Is
now proceeding more rapidly and hopes
entertained that the men alive will be
rescued before many hours have elapsed.