Arizona republican., 1907-12-07
THE WORST DISASTER
 IN MINING HISTORY
Five Hundred Men Imprisoned by Cave.In
 Following An Explosion
It is Believed That Not One Will Be Found Alive When the Debris is Cleared From Two Wrecked Mines Near MOnOn Gap w. Va.

MonOn Gap, w. Va, Dec. 6.-Six charred bodies lying in an improvised morgue, five badly injured men and 493 men imprisoned by tons of coal rock and mine debris in the depths of the hills surrounding this mining town, with the chances all against single one being alive. is the most ac- curate summary 'Obtainable tonight of the result of the mine explosion today. which in all probability is attended by a greater loss of life than any former disaster in the history of bituminous coal mining in America. The explO sion occurred at 10 o'clock today after the full force of 500 men had gone to work in the two mines affected.
 These are mines No. 6 and No. 8 of the Consolidated Coal company. locat- ed on opposite sides Of>the West Fork river. but are merged in the under ground workings by headings and on the surface by a great steel tipple and | bridge.
 The finding of the six bodies and five dying men is the only reward of strenuous. uninterrupted work on the
 
 ateIy set to work at every possible point. The five living men while un- able to give any detailed report of the disaster. state that immediately back of them when they began a fran tic struggle for liberty. there was a large number of men engaged in a similar struggle, while still further back there was a larger number of whom they know nothing
 It is the opinion of the mine off cials that these men had not pene- trated the mine as far as had the ma iority of the day shift when the explo- sion occurred. and that they had not ! far to go to reach the main entrance before the heavy cave-in that occurred and that now blocks the entrance to
 within not, more than a few hundred | feet of the main opening of No. 6. | The miners referred to as having been alive when last seen, are believ- ed to have been caught back of the heavy cave-in. They could not have survived more than a few minutes in the deadly gases with which the entry
 was filled as soon as the ventilating system was interrupted. There is nope TUT lIlOSt III tiit iiioit mote sections of the mine. as they may reach workings where there are fresh air supplies by other openings. But at best there is slender hope entertained | for the survival of any in the mine when the debris can be cleared away. and communication with the outside is | re-established. The two mines regu- | larly employ 1000 men. working two
 shifts. The best information obtain able at this time, is that the entire day
 force had gone to work and that all were caught. At ten o'clock even the
 latest of the struggling force is cus- | tOmarily at work, according to offic- ! ials
 Beyond these figures. the company officials do not attempt to give esti- mates. The general opinion in the town is that the number of the dead and imprisoned will reach 500. A few | persons believe that this number will
 be exceeded, claiming that more than half the total force worked during the | day. while on the other hand. some i think the number will be smaller. The N