Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-03-10
TWENTY LIVES LOST
IN AN EXPLOSION
The Scenes Which Followed the Disaster
Which Was Caused by a Freight Wreck
on the Erie Railroad Near 0lean,
New York, Will Never Be
Forgotten by Those
Who Saw Them.
The DEAD NUMBER EIGHTEEN TO
TWENTY AND THE WOUNDED As MANY

Olean, N. Y, March 10.--From 1S tt
20 lives were lost and fully twice thai
number We're burned or bruised by ar
explosion of oil last night, following 6
| week on the Erie railroad north OF
this city. Owing to the fact thai
some bodies were burned or blown in.
to the creek by the explosion, the ex-
act number of dead will probably not
be known for several days. The num-
ber of injured Is uncertain as many of
them We're able to reach their homes.
1t was about O'Clock in the even
ing when the train was wrecked. An
Erie freight, westbound, broke in two
on the hill two miles north of the city.
The brakes were applied and the first
portion was brought almost to a
standstill at the bridge across Olean
creek. The rear cars gathering mon en-
tum as they came down the hill,
crashed into the front cars. Most of
the cars were tank cars filled with re-
fined oil or gasoline. 1t weighed thou
sands of tons and the impact was ter
iifc. One of the tank cars caught fire
soon after the collision. The exact
is supposed to have started from a
spark struck from the grinding Of
pieces of iron in the wreck. In few
minutes another car of gasoline caught
fire and burst into flames with terri
fic report. In this early accident as far
as known no one was injured. Hun
dreds of people from the surrounding
country gathered to watch the brill
liant flames. For two hours the people
stood massed together and as the heat
became less intense the crowd began
to edge little closer to the wreckage,
until about II o'clock some venture
some boys approached to within a few
hundred feet. Suddenly there was a
terrific explosion. Great masses of
flames shot into the air and literally
rolled down the bank sides Of the
track into the valley where the specta-
LOTS were NuCl uiA ooyo ASA-
before the wave of white light to rise
no more. Huge pieces of iron were
hurled through the air, moving down
human beings by the score. Some man
aged to scramble. to their feet and get
away but others lay still in death.
The scene of agony and horror at that
was beyond description. A
veritable rain of fire came down upon
the crowd Many of these overwhelm-
ed by the flames, dropped where they
stood and never again moved. 1t was
a. m., when Deputy Sheriff Osterhout
called for volunteers to remove the
lead AMI injured, Thre times as many
IS were called for stepped forward
md the gruesome work was begun. In
, short time Is bodies had been recov-
cred and laid beside the track. Some
we're so badly burned and distorted as
% be unrecognizable. The body Of one
ooy was seen too close to the flames to
De approached and in short time 1t
vas burned to ashes. 1t is believed
hat others were also incinerated.
When the last body had been rescued
he stretcher bearers formed a process
ZION and started down the track to-
ward the ambulances and carriages
rhe crowd fell back and opened a pas
,ageway for them. The remains OF the
lead arrived in the city about O'CLOCK
md were taken to undertaking estab-
ishments to be prepared for burial. "A
anvas of the city and adjoining VII
ages will be taken to ascertain the
lames of the missing. 1t will be I'M
,ossible to identify some of the dead
nd it is likely that they will all De
uried together.