The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-08-21
] TUNNEL HORROR. ]
1 The Collision and Burning Of Two
Underground Trains.
/ /. PANIC OF THE PASSENGERS,
Who. stihed by.ythes Smoke ant,
* - -
Bewiidered by tho Dnrkness
Strive in Vain to Find

~ lr 20 gsh 7. e q 81 B B -
strive in Vain to Find
% gsa the Exits.
5s An awful catastrophe occurred in
Paris, France, on Monday evening of
q last week, on the Metropolitan Elec-
trio Railway which runs mostly un-
& derground, In which many persons
lost their lives. One OF the trains
broke at Menilmontant Station, which
is in a poor and populous section OF
4 the city. This train was promptly
empticd and the train which followed
was ordered to push to the repairing
sheds. On the way these two trains
caught fire, but the employees sue
.ceeded In escaping. Meanwhile, a
crowded train reached Les Curennes,
the preceding station, and the officials,
seeing smoke pouring out Of the
tunnel, gave the alarm. A panic en-
sued, the passengers struggling to es-
cape from the: station. Amid the in
,creasing smoke many attempted to
Icturn along the line towards Belle
Vile, but they were suffocatcd
The firemen started in to flood the
burning cars, and shortly afterward
they were able to enter the tunnel.
They brought up the corpSeS Of five
men and two women all belonging the
working class.
EIGnTY-FOUn BODIES
have been recovered, and the death
s. list probably will exceed one hundred
The accident, which occurred on
2 the metropolitan Electric Railway as
'sumed the proportions of an awful ca
itastrophe during the early hours to-
day, when more than four-Score bod
lies Of the burned and sufrocatcd vic
tims were removed from the subtcr-
Tanean passage. The work continues,
:and indications arc that the death
llist will perhaps exceed five score.
Long lines Of ambulanceS were
brought into requisiGion and the bod
lies were carried to the morgue and the
NEARBY military barracks. After day
light
THE CROWDS AT TIIH ENTRANCES
ito the tunnel Increased to enormous
proportions, obliging the police to
form solid Gordon, through which
were admitted only those seeking TO
identify their relatives among the
victims. The failure OF many men,
women and children to return home
s.f during the night gave many the fist
4ameWsS OF the q, ca tastrop Ia theirs
.ssand7 mot thers came hurryiilgs to tile
ss mouths OF the tunnels to try and find
Z; the absent ones.
The firemen found great number
of bodies massed near the ticket Of
flee OF the station, where many had
evidently been overcome while seek
ing tickets. They had been surprised
10y the columns of smoke, and had
sought to run back up the stone stair
way leading to the street. a strug-
gle ensued, and some escaped, but the
Others had been trampled on. One
woman had fled within the ticket Of
doe, where her body was found. The
ticket seller, herself, succeeded in es-
Gaping.
at the station of Les Curonnes,
the same scenes Of death and despair
had been enacted. The accident oc-
Cured midway between the stations
.of Menilmontant and Les Couronncs,
,so that the work of salvage proceeded
Ifrom both ends Of the tunnel. In
addition to the binding smoke the
tunnel bclched forth terrific heat, as
zone OF the trains was slowly burning
within. The tircmen succeeded in
Throwing several streams Of water In
THE direction Of the wreck, while some
firemen and military engineers, at
great hazard, pushed on inside the
tunnel.
Further on, the firemen stumbled
upon a
TEXTILE MASS OF HODIEs
These wenc the passengers Of the
burned train. They had fled from the
coaches when the fire broke out, and,
gDping through the suirocation clouds
of smoke, sought the exit at Les
COuronDeS Station. But the tunnel
makes sharp turn near the scene of
the disaster and at the angle the en-
tire mass Of humanity apparently be-
came tightly .gedgcd. The panic
which took place at this point, with
lin this dark subterranean passage
must have been terrible.
M. Lepine, prefeet Of police, sum-
mOned large force OF doctors and
municipal officials, who superintendent
the removal OF the bodies. The num-
Der OF corpses brought up from the
angle where the mass was wcdged was
so large that four and eight bodies
were placed in each ambulance. Many
OF the victims had handkerchicfs
stuffed in their mouths, they having
evidently tried to keep out the
asphyxiating smoke. THE faces Of
the dead we're red and congested.
Some women held their children tight
ly in their arms
Several versions Of the disaster arc
;given, but
THE MAIN FACTE
which have been established, arc
tho following:
Train No 43, which caused the acci-
dent, trance to the Bois de Boulogne,
In the western part of Paris, and pass
ing under the Place de L'IGtOilc, circl-