The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1903-08-12
TRAINS TAKE FIRE FROM BURN
ING MOTOR AND FEW PAS.
sENGERS ESCAPE.
RESCUERS BLINDED EY DENSE SMOKE
UNABLE TO ENTER SUBTERRA-
MEAN PASSAGE UNTIL MANY
HOURS ELAPSE.

Paris, Aug. 12-Eighty-fOur DOdles
have been recovered and the death list
will probably exceed a hundred in the
underground railway disaster which
occurred here during the night.
The accident occurred on the Metro
politan Electric railway, which runs
broke down at Menilmontant station,
which is in a poor and populous quar-
ter of Paris. This train was promptly
emptied and the train which followed
was ordered to push it to the repair
ing sheds. On the way these two
trains caught fire. but the employees
succeeded in escaping. Meanwhile a
crowded train reached Les Charonnes.
the preceding station, and the Off icials,
seeing smoke pouring out of the tun-
mel, gave the alarm. A panic ensued,
the passengers struggling to escape
from the station Amid the increasing
smoke many attempted to return along
the line toward Belleyille and they
were suffocated.
Although the accident occurred at
o'clock In the evening the officials
and firemen were unable until early
next morning to descend into the tun-
mel, owing to the
Binding Clouds of Smoke
from the burning train. Frequent at
tempts were made by heroic volun-
teers, whom it was necessary to rescue,
half suffocated. and carry away to
the hospitals.
At $40 a. m. Sergeant Ahrens,
wearing q respirator, succeeded In
making the descent. He remained
seven minutes and brought the infor-
nation that corpses were strewn all
about the roadway Of the tunnel. Then
he collapsed and was taken to the
hospital. Twenty minutes later fire.
men forced their way down through
the tunnel station at Menilmontant
and returned soon afterward with
seven bodies. two young boys and
three women These persons had
been asphyxiated, as their positions
showed they had been cropping through
the smoke that filled the tunnel, seek
Ing way to escape, when they We're
overcome.
The work of bringing up bodies
went on steadily after that, under the
personal direction of Prefect of Police
-
serve force to hold back the surging
crowd. including the relatives of the
victims.
The scenes at the mouth of the tun-
mel where the victims were brought
forth were OF the most heartrending
description, crowds of weeping men,
women and children struggling for
ward in an effort to recognize their
Of friends
OF the victims are from the
Middle and Working Glasses
as the trains were carrying them home
from their work
Long lines of ambulances were
brought into requisition and the bodies
were carried to the morgue and the
nearby military barracks.
At the second descent the firemen
found great number of bodies massed
near the ticket office OF the station,
where many had evidently been over
come while seeking tickets. They
had been surprised by the columns or
smoke and had sought to run back up
the stone stairway leading to the
street. A struggle had ensued and
some escaped, but the others had been
trampled on.
At the station of Les Charonnes the
same scene of death and despair nad
been enacted. The accident occurred
midway between the stations OF Menll-
montant and Les Charonnes, SO that
the work of salvage proceeded from
both ends of the tunnel In addition
to the binding smoke the tunnel
belched forth terrific heat. as one OF
the trains was slowly burning within
The f1remen succeeded In throwing
several streams of water in the direc-
ton of the wreck, while some hremen
and military engines at great hazard
Pushed on inside the Tunnel.
They brought out two bodies and soon
afterwards three more. The latter
were laborers who had almost succeed
ed In reaching the exit when they
were overcome and suffocated.
Further on the firemen stumbled
upon a terrible mass of bodies. These
were the passengers of the burned
train. They had leaped from the
coaches when the fire broke out and.
cropping through the suffocating clouds
OF smoke. sought the exit at Les Char-
onnes station. But the tunnel makes
a sharp turn near the scene of the
disaster and at the angle the entli e
mass OF humanity apparently became
tightly wedged The panic which took
Liace at this point within this dark
subterranean passage must have been
terrible
Prefect Lepino summoned large
- Aoa<orc oud YnuufriDal Off.