The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-01-30
HAVOC OF DYNAMITE
Tremendous Explosion In Tunnel
Shaft In New York.
SIX DEAD; HUNDRED INJURED
Huge Buildings In keighborhood Dis.
mantIed Ey Force Of Concussion.
Debris Hurled In Every
Direction,

A New York special says: The re-
serve supply of high explosives stored
at the Park avenue shaft of the Rapid
Transit tunnel, now in course of coz
struction, blew up shortly after noon
Monday. The giant blast killed six
persons, injured hundred others and
seriously damaged all the property
reached by the flying debris and the
vibration of the shock.
The irregular square formed by the
Murray Hill hotel on the west, the
Manhattan Eye and Ear hospital and
the Grand Union hotel On the east and
the Grand Central railroad station on
the north was the scene Of the eXplo.
sion. The buildings named sustained
the greatest damage, but the area at
fected extended for three blocks in
four directions from the center.
The list Of injured is an exceedingly
long one, but most of those in it have
only cuts caused by flying glass.
The sunken approach to the street
railway tunnel used by the Madison
avenue line cuts through Park avenue,
and the shaft for the Rapid Transit
subway was run down beside it at the
intersection of East Fortieth street.
The street railway approach was cov-
cred by a superstructure used for the
operating plant of the rapid tran :it
contractors. Temporary buildings for
storage purposes we're thrown up
against the superstructure at the
mouth Of the shaft and there the ex-
plosion occurred. 1t tore great
gorge in the street, demolished the
temporary buildings and part of the
superstructure and sent a mass OF
Garth, splintered timber and twisted
iron high in the air. Much Of it went
battering against the front CT the Muir
ray Hill hotel, and. although the walls
and main structure of that building
stood the shock, nearly every room IN
the front of the house was wrecked.
The Manhattan Eye and Ear hospit-
al, on the east side Of the avenue, Jared
nearly as bad and had to be abandoned
by the management.
The Grand Union hotel lost all of its
windows and glass partitions and prac-
tically every front window in the
Grand Central station was shattered.
The great clocks on its front towers
were blown from their cases. Thou
sands of windows, some Of them seven
blocks from the tunnel shaft, fell IN
fragments. 1t was the shower OF bro
ken glass and falling debris that IN
jured the greatest number.
Fortunately the explosion occurred
at the noon hour. Not more than a
hundred persons were in the main
waiting room of the Grand Central sta
ton, which presented somewhat the
appearance of dismantled castle, the
big windows being only ragged holes.
General alarms brought firemen, po-
lice. reserves and every available am
bulance to the scene and the injured
were speedily cared for. A majority OF
the injured were treated on the spot
and the ambulance surgeons WORKED
for an hour in the debris stre"n
streets.
The cause Of the explosion and the
quantity of explosives that BILE" up
are not definitely known.
The damage may exceed slooo'oco
The first estimate on the Murray hlli
hotel placed the loss at $loo'ooo Du'
later the hotel was abandoned as un'
safe If the building is condenneu'
tho loss of it alone will approach 3d..
ooo 900. The damage to the Grano
Union was. estimated at $4o,V''' Sno
that to the Manhattan hospital at go,
coo. The loss at the Grand CenTa'
station was entirely in glass as was
Dot of the one hundred or more ouilo
iops affected by the explosion. NC
estimate was made of the losses s"s'
ta;ned bv the Rapid Transit conlCac'
tors.