St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-06-24


CARDIFF, Wales. June 90 "A. dis
patch from Pont Pridd. Glam0rgan.
says that terrible explosion occurred
this afternoon in the Albion colliery,
near that place. Two hundred miners
are buried beneath the debris of the
mine. Their fate is unknown, but it is
believed that large humber OF them.
ave been killed. 90
D 1t is estimated, that eighty utners
were killed either by the explosion or
blythe falling earth and rock. The
force of the explosion may be Judged
from the fact that beam fifteen inches
by fifteen inches aud twenty feet long
was blown considerable distance from
the top of the shaft. Several parties
OF volunteers ii, the work Of
rescue descended into, the pit this
evening. Every possible effort is being
made to save the imprisoned miners
who are yet alive. and to rescue tile
bodies of the dead, but the galleries are
so choked with wreckage that it is
feared the survivors will not be reached
until tomorrow morning. None Of
the rescuing party which went down
tonight has yet returned, and. this
is taken to indicate that great difficulty
is being met with in reaching the place
where the miners are entombed. The
entire population of Cilfynudd aud hum.
dreds of persons from Pont y Prldd and,
other places in the vicinity gathered
about the mouth of the pit this evening,
anxiously waiting for news from below.
1t is stated that most of the entOmbed
are timberers, laborers. haulers and
rippers. A dozen or more boys are also.
among the number. Late tonight some
OF the rescuers came to the surface and
reported that they had penetrated into
tbs mine for a distance of 100 yards from
the bottom of the shaft, and had found
five men alive, but badly injured. they
also found thirteen men who had been
killed. This Information spread rapidly
among the crowd
AT THE PITS MOUTH,
and the excitement grew in intensity
Those who had friends or relatives in
the mine asked with eager. strained
faces If they we're among the dead. OF
course no information could be youch
safed them, as the mine officials did not
know the names of the killed, and many
OF the bodies were SO badly burned that
Identification by the rescuiDg party
under the dim light Of their lamps was
Impossible. The five men were brought
up the shaft as soon as possible. and
the directors who were present did
everything i'll their power to alleviate
their sufferings.
Shortly after the five live men were
brought up the bodies of those found
near them were raised to the surface
and placed i'll a shed near the mouth
OF the pit. Here several of them
were Identified by their clothing.
Whlle the crowd was assembled about
the shed, twenty men and boys in
seml-conSciouS condition were brought
up. They mad apparently not been in
Jured by the explosion. but had inhaled
the afterdamp. Had they not been
found when they were thereis no doubt
they would have all been suffoca1ed.
As the night advanced the.impression
grew that the loss of life would sbe
greatly IN excess of the first estimates.
The reScuers who have come to the sur
face report that they have seen a num-
Der of bodies so pinned under the debris
that 1t Is impossible as yet to eXtricate
lhem. They also say that, Judging
from the appearance of the faces
of the bodies, that death III many
instances was caused by the dreaded
afterdamp. This gas is bindering the
work Of the rescuers. the fans as yet
not having succeeded in freeing the pit
OF it. In the further workings. the venti-
lating of which has been almost COM
pletely destroyed, the gas must be
present IN large quantities. and this fact
initiates against any hope of saving the
men imprisoned there.
CARDIFF, June A.-4 a. Moore
bodies were discovered and brought out
after midnight. Many of them were
so terribly scalded that the flesh
almost dropped off them. neces-
stating their being handled most care
fully. 1t is more than probable that a
large percentage of the dead will not be
identified. The work of clearing
the debris is now progressing
more rapidly and hopes are entertained
that the men yet alive will be rescued
before many hours have elapsed.