New-York tribune., 1901-09-27

IT ARE OvERCOME-EsCAPING GAS
IGNITED BY REsCUERs.
| Two men who entered an oil tank at the "o' ms
| of the Essex and Hudson Gas Company New
! ark yesterday afternoon. to clean 1t. lost thelf
lives. and their foreman, going to the rescue
lost his in the vain endeavor to save them
| few minutes later three more men were hurled
to death and seven seriously injured in an at
! tempt at the rescue of the three already dead
| in the tank 1t is possible there is a seventh
man dead. but there six bodies now in the
| morgue and seven men are in the hospitals
| THE DEAD.
KIRcH Lawrence thirty-hve years old employed in the
works only weeks.
MEYER. William, forty years cid.
MILLER. Henry. twenty-eight years old Of No 80
MILLER. Nicholas. forty-hve years ole.
NEWMAN. Otto, twenty-seven years old foreman at the
works.
SNYDER. twenty-five old lived in Jersey
Many say there is body in the river, as they
saw it hurled high in the air in that direction.
AS no dead or injured man found between
the tank and the river, there may be a seventh
dead.
THE INJURED.
BUNKER Theodore twenty-six years old badly burned
about face and body. suffers from shock
DECKER. A. II. s. superintendent Of the works burns
leg broken, badly torn.
~ and io cut leg broken
MILLER Edward. twentyseven years old burned about
Aa2 S % o 9 m s s5oEe s
RINDERER. Thaddeus. thirty eight years old badly
burned, bruised cut and suffering from shock
VINCENT. Arthur. twenty-four old. burned and
suffers from shock.
The explosion WAS at the plant of the COM
pany at the foot of Lombard-st. The tank
a steel one used for the holding of oils. 1t had
been emptied in the morning so that it could
be cleaned The other tanks in the yard
were cleaned recently.
Shortly after l o'clock the work began. The
manhole covering, a plate 1S inches by 30
inches. unscrewed, and Krch and Meyer.
who do the work climbed into the
tank. 1t is claimed that they descended into
the tank, which is twenty feet deep. without the
usual precaution of having ropes about them.
They had hardly reached the bottom when
they were overcome by the fumes in the tank
and collapsed. Although he must have known
the danger that lay before him, Newman. the
foreman. started down inside the tank after
them when he them fall. He waited only
long enough TO shout warning other work
men about the yard. Newman collapsed
soon as he was inside and the folly of sending
more inside with ropes about them
was seen.
Miller, who once foreman at The works
but who has been keeping grocery store near
and working a day or so at a time for the COM
| pany, was sent for and assumed charge OF the
rescue work He called for helpers and set
! about cutting a hole IN the top of the tank
/ This both to let out the gas. which could
not escape rapidly through the manhole, and TO
| allow the easy lifting of the three men inside
! A ring OF five feet in diameter marked out.
! and all except about two feet Of the rim was
| cut around when the explosion came.
| It is supposed that Miller's chise struck a
| spark and iCnited the gas escaping through the
! cut. There single loud report. and then
flash Of fame. There were ten men on top Of
| the tank. They hurled in all directions.
but as the greatest force Of the explosion was
| spent in irving the tank where the spark was
struck Miller, Snyder and the man not yet iden-
titled and perhaps another. whose body may be
in the river, hurled the furthest and killed.
| The County Physician. when he examined MIL
ler's body and that Of Snyder. said 1t seemed