New-York tribune., 1902-05-13
25 KILLED; $50 INJURED
NAPHTHA TANK EXPLODE.S
IN PITTISBURG.
SCENES OF HORROR. WHERE MANY
DIED, AND SUFFERING, MADDENED
MEN TROD DOWN THE WEAK
ley TELEGRAPH TO TEE TR1BuNE.l

Pittsburg. May 12-An explosion caused by
the collision Of two tank oil in the Sheridan
yards of the Pan Handle Railroad at 4:45
o'clock this afternoon. wrought terrible damage.
Late estimates put the dead at twenty-five and
the burned and injured at one hundred TO one
hundred and fifty The Sheridan yards are
about four miles from Pittsburg in the CHARTERS
Valley. On each side hills ascend. Two cars
loaded with oil and filled with naphtha
made up. The cars came together with such a
crash as to start a leak in one tank broke the
couplings, and is supposed to have broken a
switch light. The oil flowed down on the
switch light and caught fire. In flash the
blaze ran along the stream Of oil. reached the
car and before the trainmen who had jumped
forward to extingush the flame, could reach
II, the tank exploded.
The noise of the explosion and the light of
the fire that followed drew hundreds of people
TO the scene. While they We're watching the
blaze, at 5:15, the second car exploded and sew
eral Of the spectators were showered with the
burning oil The crowd quickly scattered to the
steep hillsides that line the tracks where they
thought they could watch the conflagration in
safety
In fifteen minutes, however. came the catas
trophe. The car. that was filled with the voIa-
tile and highly inlammable naphtha stood near
fire generated the gas in the naphtha. and the
car, which was provided with gas dome blew
up with terrific and fatal force. The dome was
thrown directly among the mass of people on
the hillside and the burning naphtha, forced
through the opening in the top of the tank.
flew upward in solid mass of fire. to settle in
burning spray on the thousand who
we're watching the sight. 1t was literally
baptism of fire.
The firemen and those in the valley along the
tracks never got away. The burning oil and
naphtha made living torches of them. The ex-
element on the hillside terrible. Hun
dreds Of people with their clothes on fire rushed
about, tearing their clothes from their bodies
and shrieking in fright and pain. Men and
women. the clothing burned from their bodies
buried themselves in the bushes Children
screamed with pain, and a rushing crowd Of
maddened men trampled over the weak in their
anxiety to get away. Some set others on fire.
Instances are cited of those standing nearest
the cars having their bodies almost torn TO
pieces by the force of the explosion The burning
oil spread over the valley flowing. a stream
Of fire. between two frightened mobs. one on
each hill, where awful scenes were being en-
acted. The fiery fluid tricked down the ditch
for several miles. II flowed past Esplen village
and into the Ohio River. AT the edge OF Esplen
and Pittsburg IT found leaking natural gas
main. which exploded with a terrific report.
tearing down dozen buildings. In OF these
was a poolroom, crowded with young
They rushed for the window and injured each
other as much as did the falling timbers Thus
two separate horrors from the sa me source were
being enacted at two different places two miles
apart.
The railroad company when Informed of the
horror made up special trains Physicians from
all over the city called and S soon a
few could be gathered together they were rushed
down TO the scene of the, first explosion where
the hillsides and valley were covered with dead
and dying. All the railroad
ganized into relief corps.