The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1901-12-28
KILLS THREE MEN.
Terrible Eject of Explosion Si
Boilers In Steel Plant mt
Pittsburg.

| Pittsburg, Pa, Dec. 21.-Three dead,
one missing and IL injured is the result
OF terrific boiler explosion at the
J Black Diamond steel works of Park
Bros, on Thirtieth street, Friday.
| The dead are John Welvik, aged 80
years; Patrick O'Connor, aged 2S
years, and an unknown man. John
Wits is missing and is probably among
the killed. The injured are:
Thomas Elliott. aged %. laborer. three Sc
we're scalp wounds.
Albert Gesishic. furnace hand, two
| Alexander Waszeloice, charger OF the
| furnace, left leg broken and several scalp
| wounds.
| Robert Street (colored). arms bruised.
Valentine Perniski, right leg broken and
| scalp wounds.
| blown Off and burned about face, head,
hands and body.
Isaac Washington. aged 10, heater, scalp
wounds and left arm bruised.
| William Steinbaugh. mill hand. chest
| bruised and breast bone fractured.
| Peter Mlkoscki, helper scalp wound and
| back burned.
John McClusky. helper. face and hands
| burned.
Munroe Larkins (colored). %, arms
| burised and burned.
Joseph Zunic. badly>cut and injured about
the head.
The injured at the hospitals are all
doing well except Steinbaugh, whose
injuries may yet prove fatal. Reuben
Miller, Jr., superintendent of the
plant, states that the boilers were ex-
amined last week and pronounced in
excellent condition. No known cause
can be given for the explosion,
1t was about AIS o'clock as the
night crew was about to turn over the
mill to the day force, that four boilers
in the ten-inch bar mill No. 3 exploded
| with terrific force, scattering death and
destruction in all directions.
When the boilers exploded a panic
ensued and the men fought their way
to the entrances, and all that were
! able rushed to the street. A few min
utes after the boilers let go, the big
mil was n heap of ruins. The injured
| and known dead were found under
wreckage and in the mill yard where
they had fallen in their race for life.
The No. ten-inch mill faces on Thir-
tieth street and was big ironclad
| ran up to Spruce alley and along that
for almost 200 feet. In the rear of
the plant, on Twenty-ninth street, is
! the big boiler works of James Nc
Neil. One of the boilers went clean
through the Park Bros mill and
crushed into the Mcneil plant almost
completely demolishing it. The only
man at work in the Mcneil plant was
Rudolph Kroff, the night Waterman.
He was knocked down by the force of
the explosion and his nervous system
badly shocked. He was found in the
Plant and taken to the West Penn hos
pital.
Another Of the boilers went through
the roof of the bar mill, scared through
| the air across Thirtieth street and
crashed through the residence of Rob-
ert Price, at No Thirtieth street. 1t
went through the front wall and fell
| into the cellar, completely wrecking
| the house. Price and his family were
asleep at the time and had to rush to
the street in their night clothes. They
were taken in by neighbors.
The other two boilers were blown to
pieces and caused the complete de-
| struction of the mill.
The report of the explosion was heard
| for blocks around the plant and the
police from No. 3 station rushed to the
scene. The cries of the injured rent
the air while the timbers shot forth
flames and the sizzling steam curled
up into the blackness of the early
morning. The police were quick to act.
Hurry calls were sent to No. and No.
5 patrols and the West Penn hos
pital. ambulance. All three vehicles
arrived few minutes after the acct
dent and the work of removing the
injured from the wreck was begun.
| About the same time that the call
was sent for the ambulances an alarm
/ of fire was sent in and engine compa-
MES Nos. z, Is and IS responded. The
J firemen gave the searchers torches,
/ and, crawling over the debris, the fire.
men and police searched for the dead
and manned. 1t was a gruesome task
and the biting cold winds from the riv-
err made the work slow and painful
One by one the injured were carried to
the patrols and ambulance and hurried
I to the hospital. Some of the men found
in the mill we're only shocked by the
explosion and were able to walk after
they were carried out and would not go
to the hospital, but were taken home.
No official statement as to the cause
of the accident has been given out as
! yet. A meeting of the officials is now
in session and thorough investigation
! is to be made.
| Just what the extent Of the loss will
be to the Park Bros. company and the
McNeils is not known. but ii is various
ly estimated from $4,000 to 100000.
/ Both plants will have to be rebuilt.
| fuI