Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-03-13
JENA BLOWS UP.
 " TT French 6att|eship Is De. stroyed at ToMon. OFFICERS AND MEN PERISH. Caused by Explosion of Compressed
 Air Torpedo. CAPTAIN BURNED IN HIS CABIN.
OFFICERS AND MEN PERISH.
CAPTAIN BURNED IN HIS CABIN.

Disaster Occurred While Vessel Lay
 at N1issiessy Arsenal Dock, nnd the
 Explosion Hurled the Dead and Wounded Men and Fragments ot
 ship In All Dlrections-Among vic-
 tims Are Commander Adisard, Cap-
 tain yertier, Chief of Squadron
 Stan, and Five Other Omcers-Over
 Seventy Blusjaokets Met Horrible
 Death-Admiral Manceron and More
 Than Hundred of the Crew suf-
 fer From GhastIy Wounds = Sur
 vivors Interviewed.
 TOULON, France. March 1S.-The
 explosion of a compressed air torpedo
 on the French battleship Jena, lying in the Missiessy dock at the arsenal here, resulted in the explosion of the ships powder magazines and the total de struction of the. vessel. Great damage was also done to other vessels in the vicinity and loss of life that is near ly hundred.
 When the powder magazines blew up Captain Adigard, the commander of the battleship; Captain vertier, chief of staff of the Mediterranean squad ron, and from seventy to eighty blue jackets were killed outright, while Rear Admiral Mancercn and hundreds of other men are suffering from horri- ble injuries.
 The body of Captain Vertier was hurled POO yards from the wreck, fall ing on a pile of scrap iron. Not an of. ficer of the Jena escaped either death or serious injury.
 The bodies of sixty bluejackets have been recovered. About forty men are missing, and it is believed they were blown to fragments. When the ex- plosions were at their height. in the air above the ship were seen flying arms and legs. and several men were thrown bodily fifty feet skyward. The blasts were so terrific that windows were shattered a mile distant, and several of the largest structures in the Toulon navy yard were badly wrecked.
 The detonations were so heavy that armor plates were thrown from the sides of the ship. One man lying with both legs broken in the bottom of the dock was crushed fiat by one of the plates. and still another was beheaded by the same ponderous mass of steel.
 The entire after part of the Jena was blown to pieces. The bod ies of the victims were hurled through the air by succession of explosions, and the panic stricken workmen at the arsenal lied from the vicinity of the dry dock for their lives. Scores of the men who were on board the Jena jumped either overheard or on to the stone quays and sustained serious in- juries.
 The primary cause of the accident was the explosion of torpedo. Why this instrument exploded is not known, but the powder magazines of the Jena were set on fire and their contents in exploding practically destroyed what was considered one of the finest yes sels in the French navy. The Jena iad just undergone final inspection ,f her hull and machinery. the latter having been completely overhauled pre- to joining the squadron to- fay.
 The crew was in it's full strength. 1 being composed of the rear admiral. 1 other officers and 630 men. ! The magazines had been replenished recently and contained many tons of both smokeless and black powder as we'll as a number of explosive charges 1, for torpedoes.
 The explosion came without warn- Ing. The first shock was extremely ! violent and shook the vessel fore and aft. It was at once followed by other The crew were thrown into a of terror stricken panic. They rushed wildly hither and thither about the deck. The men forward. who had been attending the lecture. clambered | over the bulwarks and jumped down. some of them into the dock and others ,n to the stone quay. Many of the men who jumped sustained fatal injuries.
 In the meantime the detonati6ns had | become more frequent. and the entire liter part of the Jena, which was vir. tlally blown to pieces. caught on fire. Shells and charges of explosives in the magazines continued to explode. ani masses of metal were hurled into the iir to fall everywhere about the docks md the arsenal. These flying missiles the torpedo shed. the en. rine works and the pump house near 1y and constituted a most serious menace to the lives of those who made heir way toward the III fated battle hip to begin the work of rescue.
 In spite of the danger many heroic ,fforts were made to resder assistance. put for the most part in vain. The lena WAS s1ame from bursting projec- ile<, and the fire prevented approach.
 1t k declared that for thirty min ties the authorities were unable to dis over the keys with which te open the ocks to Aood the dry dock and sub merge the ship. but when they did iually open the locks the water rush | in on to the Jena. and the explosions anne to an end.
 Then amidst masses of dense smoke be search for the dead and wounded ras commenced The lower decks of be Jena were filtered with the fraT-