Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-08-21

EXPLOSION KILLS NINE.
Worsmen Caught Between Flood and Flame.
Death 10 all Seemed Inevitable.

Cleveland, Ohio, August 15.-
Through the bursting of o boiler o,
the ignition of natural gas in the
new waterworks tunnel on the lake
nine workmen met death, and 8
number are in the hospital in q pre-
carious condition.
The explosion occurred before
daylight. Three gangs of tunnel
men, who live at the crib, were
caught like rats in trap, and either
had to jump into the lake and posi-
bly, drown, or 60 back into the tun-
mel to probably meet death by suffo-
cation. Crib No. 2 caught fire
When the tugs responded at 4 a. m
the burning crib prevented action.
Half an hour later the flames were
under control. The tug brought
twenty-five badly burned and half
naked men to the shore, where seve-
ral of them were taken in ambu-
lances to the hospital. There were
two shifts of thirty men each work
ing at the cribs and in the tunnel.
One shift was asleep in the crib
when the fire broke out.
HOW 1T OCCURRED.
About 2.30 this morning Capt.
Thorne, of the tug Sprankle, heard a
detonation in the tunnel, and mo-
ment later he saw burning timbers
hurled into the air from where crib
No. 2 was located. The flames i'm
mediately died away, but he thought
he could see smoke through the haze.
Steam was up on the Sprankle, and
after notifying the fireboat, he began
to race. Though the boat made
splendid speed, the crib was burned
to the waters edge when they arrived.
In the water were shrieking, half
drowned and scorched men, begging
to be saved. The rescuers quickly
picked up twenty ono men, and one
woman, while the fire boat began
work on the flames.
There was little to be done, for
everything intlammable was about
destroyed. Two of the men picked
up had been badly hurt. They were
taken a hospital, where it is said
they W. ro-Hver.
No e~oavating has been done in
the tunnel for several weeks, but
sub contractors were preparing to
resume tunneling.
The men at the crib were there
for the purpose of cleaning out the
tunnel in the vicinity of the crib.
When the explosion occurred,
from some unknown cause at 2.3O
o'clock, the fifty or sixty mon aud
one woman cook, composing the two
resting shifts, were asleep in their
hunks. The force of the blast threw
many of these men from their hunks,
and the next instant the crib was q
roaring furnace.
Those in the crib, pressed by the
flames, jumped into the lake. 1t
was choice between drowning or
being burned to death. Before they
could escape to the water many in
the party were badly scorched.
There was not boat at the crib.
nor anything to hold out rev of
hope. Land was three miles awav
and the morning was foggy. TO
make matters worse, many of the
unfortunatcs could not swim and
they floundered in the water, tiring
themselves in their struggles to keep
their heads above water.
SCREAMING FOR HELP.
All the time they wero shouting
nd struggling, reaching out madly
for charred pieces Of wreckage upon
which to cling.
The shift that was at work down
in the tunnel below tho crib num-
bercd twelve men, the survivors say.
The superintendent in charge of
the work seemed paralyzcd by the
horror of the accident. Your cor.
respondent found him walking up
and down the dock trembling and
pale.
"It is horrible" he said, "but
can give no information. My God,
! wish | could. No, sir, we DO not
know how many are, down there.
| could not tell you even how many
were on the crib last night. The
books were burned up in the crib.
| have had no report from the fore
man even to 90 by"
The loss is placed at 100000.
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