Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1901-02-16
50 NEN ENTONBED.
Frightful Mine Explosion In
British Columbia.
VICTIMS MAY HAVE Persisted.
Attempts at Rescue Were Being Made.
An ES-Mine Manager Gave as His opin-
ion That None Would BE Secured Alive
Details Were Neagre.

Victoria. B. c.. Feb. 16.-What is
feared will prove to be one of the
most horrible mine accidents in the
history not only of the province. but
of the dominion, took place at the
Union mines, owned by the yelling
Colliery company, of which James
Dunsmuir, the premier of the prov
ince, is the principal shareholder.
Telegraphic advices gave no complete
story of the accident, but newspaper
correspondents We're hurrying to the
scene. As near as can be gathered
the explosion took place at about IL
o'clock Friday forenoon in No. 6
shaft. This particular shaft is stu
ated in the village of Cumberland.
There were so men in it when the
explosion took place and not one OF
them escaped. The explosion ignited
the mine. wrecking the shaft from
midway down to the bottom and fill
inc it with a solid mass of rocks,
earth and timbers. The first expio-
sion was followed by several more,
while dense volume of smoke pour
ing from the vent holes indicated
that fire as well as gas was doing
destructive work below
As soon as possible after the acct
dent the men of the morning shift in
No ) shaft organized rescue party.
No. 5 is situated about a mile from
No. 6. but the two workings are con-
neeted by n tunnel. and through this
channel an attempt was made to help
the unfortunate fellows in the
wrecked shaft.
They had not cut their way many
yards through the debris when they
encountered fire. which rendered the
place untenable and obliged the party
to desist.
The message came back by tele-
phone to the surface conveying the
heartbreaking news to the relatives
of the imprisoned men, whose urging
was not necessary to induce the re-
lief party to return to their appar-
emily hopeless task. Overcome at
last by gas and smoke they reluct-
antly withdrew from No and com
menced work on. long cut from No.
4, the only other means of reaching
the men. Work on this was prese-
euted with the greatest vigor until
abatement of the fire In No. 5 en-
abled them to once more return there.
Later news was somewhat encour-
aging, it being stated that the fans
were again working. that the cage
had been sent down 175 feet and was
still going down in No. A shaft.
OF the 60 men imprisoned in the
mine the names of the following are
obtainable:
Walker and two sons, John
White, Thomas Lord, Robert Steel,
George Turnbull. Many of the men
are married and have large families.
John Bryner, ex-member of parlia-
ment, brother-in-law of the premier,
and ex-rnanager Of a portion of the
Dunsmuir mining business said last
night that scarcely any hope could
be held out for the men. The only
way in which any of them could es-
cape would be by reaching some re-
mote portion of the workings to
which the fatal gases and smoke
could not penetrate. The gas in a
coal mine, he said, did its work in
few minutes. Hence the hopelessness
of the task of saving men who had
been in it for hours.
The last report Of the inspector of
mines pronounced the shaft as COM
plying with the regulations governing
coal mines.