Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-02
OVER A. HUNDRED KILLED
Details of the Recent Mexican Railway
Disaster.
Plunge of n Train Over a High Preci.
pfce-The Engineer Blamed
for the Tragedy.

Later reports of the railway disaster
| twenty-five miles from the City of Mexico
| on Thursday afternoon show that the
casualties were even greater than at first
| announced. Over 100 lives are said to have
| been lost. As telegraphed to The Star the
train was an excursion, filled with those
who had been on a pilgrimage to the
Catholic shrine of Sacremonte. All went
| well until point on the line about midway
between Temantla and Tenago was reach
ed. On this part of the road there is a
steep incline, the line at one place on it
having a sharp curve where it runs close
to the edge Of a high precipice.
An Awful Plunge.
This is one of the most dangerous places
on The road; and was rendered more so by
the fact that the track was not in the best
OF condition. AS the train began to run
| down the incline many of the passengers
were laughing and joking, while others
were looking out of the windows at the
rapidly passing scenery, which at this point
is grand. Soon the speed of the train be-
gan to increase, and it was soon running
at a frightful rate. The passengers ceased
| their laughing and joking and looked at
each other with a strange fear-depicted in
| their faces. Steadily the momentum of the
| train, which was now swaying and bound
| ing fearfully, increased, and soon the dam
gerous high curve was struck. AS the pilot
locomotive swayed outward and then back.
AS the drivers went on the curve the en-
CINE again swayed heavily, and then either
jumped the track or turned a rail-
1t dashed across the scanty space be-
| tween the rails and the edge of the chasm
and then plunged downward.
One after another. three coaches, filled
with passengers, dashed after it and piled
up in a mass of wreckage at the foot OF the
precipice. The next two coaches also
| jumped the track, but, most fortunately.
| did not go over the edge of the precipice.
As the fifth coach left the metals 1t
| twisted and broke the couplings connecting
| it with the coaches behind It, THESE
| coaches kept the rails and passed safely
| around the curve. After runningA consid-
| cradle distance, they were stopped by the
| hand brakes.
The passengers in the two derailed
coaches at the edge of the precipice got out
| as quickly as possible, and many of them
| fell on their knees and offered thanks Tor
| their escape from most awful death.
Gruesome Scene.
In the meantime a number of the pas
| sengers in the other coaches had returned
| to the scene of the wreck, and devoted
themselves to the rescue of those impris-
| oned in the wreckage at the foot of the
precipice.
| The sight here was a most gruesome one.
| The carriages were shattered, and ma
| jority of the occupants We're lying horribly
mangled beneath the wreckage.
|
| botten by those who witnessed 1t.
| The railroad officials displayed commend
| able activity, and special relief train.
| with surgeons, an ambulance. medicines.
| bandages. etc, was promptly dispatched TO
| the scene. Everything possible was done
| to alleviate the sufferings of the injured.
some of whom We're in such agony that
! they prayed for death to relieve them from
their tortures.
The railroad employees and the relief
corps soon cleared away the wreckaise suf-
ficiently to allow the extrication of the
dead aud injured.
One hundred and four dead and eighty
five wounded were taken out of the wreck.
The injured who could stand being moved
were brought to the City OF Mexico on the
special train and taken to the military
hospital, which was thrown open to suf-
ferers by orders from President Diaz.
The whole staff of the hospital busted
themselves in attending the injured, who
were made as comfortable as their circum-
stances would permit.
Many of the dead will never be identified,
some of them being so horribly mangled
that it is almost impossible to recognize
the remains as those of human beings.
Cause of the Disaster.
So far as can be learned the accident
was due to the negligence of the engineer.
1t is stated that when the train entered
the incline he made no attempt to check
its speed by the use of air brakes. Had
these brakes failed to work the momentum
could have been checked with the hand
brakes. but persons on the train state that
they heard no whistle for the application
of the hand brakes.
The engineer and fireman are believed to
be under the wreck of the engine and
tender, and why the train was allowed to
run practically wild. on one of The most
dangerous sections of the road, will prob
ably never be known.
As is the case in Mexico. whenever a
railroad accident occurs, the feeling Is very
bitter against the railroad company and
the train hands. All the latter who sur
vived will be held to strict accountability
under the Mexican law. although, as a
matter of fact, they We're in 70 way re-
sponsible for the disaster.
The most terrible Mexican railroad ac-
cident was the one that occurred on the
night of June "a, 1881, when a train on
the San Morelos railway was precipitated
by the fall of a bridge into the river rear
Cuartla About 200 lives were lost in that