Omaha daily bee., 1896-10-30
SIX KILLED In A COAL NINE
Terrible Explosion of Gas Which Shakes
the Earth for Miles.
TWELVE MISSING, THOUGHT TO BE DEAD
Mine was Idle for the Day or the Loss
of Life Would Probably Have
Been Very Much
l.. larger.

WILKESBARRE. Pa. Oct. ga terrible
explosion Of gas occurred in No. 3 mine Of
the Lehigh and Wilkesbarrc Coal company,
South wilkesbarre, between and o'clock
this afternoon. Six men are known to be
dead and three injured. 1t is not yet known
how many were in the mine at the time
of the explosion, but twelve are reported
missing and it is believed all of these have
persisted. The dead who have been brought
to the surface are:
WILLIAM r. JONES, fire boss.
JOHN JOSEPH, assistant mine foreman.
THOMAS OWENS miner
WILLIAM LACEY, rock miner.
JAMES HEBRON, laborer
JOSEPH WORTH, fire boss.
The injured, so far as known, are:
David williams, overcome by black
damp.
John Davis, overcome by black damp.
The cause of the explosion will probably
never be known. The mine was idle for
the day. Usually there are from 400 to
500 men employed in the mine. Had they
all been at work when the explosion oc-
Cured the loss of life would have been
very large. The only men in the mine
this afternoon were the company hands and
bosses who were at work in the rock tun-
was very gaseous and the men worked with
safety lamps. 1t is believed the gas was
ignited by a blast. David Williams, the
driver boss, was at the head of the slope,
500 feet away, when the explosion occurred
and was hurled some distance and injured.
He was the only one in that vicinity who
escaped alive.
The explosion was so severe that 1t was
plainly felt at the north of the shaft. The
roof of the fan house was blown away. The
alarm was promptly given and hundreds of
men, women and children rushed to the
head of the shaft. The grief of the wo-
men who had husbands, sons, or brothers in
the mine was heartrending. The work of
organizing rescue gangs was begun without
delay 1t was n perlous undertaking, as
the sequel proved, but no man faltered.
Fire Boss William r. Jones and Assistant
Mine Foreman John Joseph selected the men
for the first party and themselves led the
way. All were overcome by the dread
afterdamp, but not until they had found
Driver Boss David Williams. All except
Joseph succeeded in reaching the foot of the
shaft and were removed to the surface, but
the old fire boss William X. Jones, succumbed
to the deadly fredamp and died in half an
hour after being brought out, despite the
efforts of doctors TO save his life
John Joseph, the other hero, became sep
arated from the first party, and the second
rescuing party found his body and removed
II to the surface at 2:30 o'clock num-
Der of company men who were working In
different part of the mine reached the sur
face by the No. shaft and also by another
opening
The bodies OF Thomas Owens. William
Lacey, James Heron and John Worth. who
we're at work in the rock tunnel, were found
at o'clock. They were horribly burned
ard hardly recognizable The rescurers
arc now at work clearing the tunnel in the
expectation of finding more bodies. 1t
Is believed. however that six Is the total
number of dead.
On March 2, 1890, in this same colliery
eight men were imprisoned and died before
they could be reached by the rescuing
party.