Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-11
SEVEN MEN KILLED
BRIDGE SPAN FALLS INTO
RIVER NEAR BLOOMSBURY, PA.

Seven men were killed and twelve or
more injured as the result of the collaps-
| ing of the traveller on the second span
on the Miffiinville side of the Mifiinville
| bridge, spanning the north branch of the
Susquehanna. eight miles above this place
yesterday. The accident occurred at )
o'clock in the afternoon, and was due to
debris carried by the flooded river striking
the unfinished structure.
Forty men were on the traveller when
the crash came, and all were thrown into
the river or caught in the debris of twist
ed steel and broken beams
The list of those who were killed fol-
lows: A. w. FANS. Selinsgrove; Charles
Creitzer Selinsgrove; Adam Nuss, Selins-
grove; Adam Tritt, Beaver Valley; Irwin
Updegraff. Georgetown; Millard Bowman,
Mif1inville; George B. Faux, residence
unknown.
Mckees- Half-Falls, leg broken; Howard
Reighterbach. Mckees- Half Falls, leg
broken; Ray Sherwood, Meshoppeu, shoul-
ders bruised and spine injured. skull pune
tured; William Meyer. selinsgrove. leg
broken: Luther Eckerd, Liverpool. severe
bruises; Cecil Sharar, Newport. shoulder
dislocated: Newton Dunlop Bellefonte,
legs badly bruised John Seesholtz, Sell
insgrove, head bruised; Harry C. Good
ling, Hopper. fracture right elbow; Will
liam Boyer, York. back probably broken
John Fisher. Selinsgrove, arm broken;
William Weiking, Snyder county, body
cut and bruised; Jacob johnson, Blooms
burg. fractured leg and ribs torn loose.
The accident came without seconds
warning and the men. helpless in the mass
of iron and steel, had no chance for their
lives.
Victims Pinned in Wreck.
The bodies of four of those who were
killed rose to the surface. but the re-
mainder are pinned beneath the weight
of tons of iron and steel.
The accident occurred just a few min
utes before time to quit and the work of
rescue had no sooner started than dark
ness retarded, the work and no effort
could be made last night to secure the
bodies of the missing men.
The accident came at the time when
the second span had been almost swung.
superintendent of Construction Lawton,
who himself narrowly escaped death in
the accident stated he was unable to Of
fer any explanation of the cause.
A workman stated that just before the
accident occurred a large stump struck
the false work and then the structure
collapsed.
"Mocky' Chamberlain, workman on
the bridge. was just below the traveller
when he noticed 1t swinging away. He
jumped to ferry fiat and swan to shore.
When the men were struggling in the
water he jumped in and saved several.
Remarkable Escapes.
One of the most miraculous rescues was
that of William Nesbit, workman
weighing $50 pounds, who was on the
traveller when it went down. He was
pinned between pieces of iron in such a
manner that only his mouth and chin
were above water. his mouth filling
whenever he opened it. He was seen by
the army of rescuerS and his life saved
Thomas Stacy of Snyder county was
on the top of the traveller. 100 feet above
the water. when it collapsed. When the
traveller struck he was still in the same
position on top of the broken part as it
lay in the water.
Residents of Miff1inville did magnificent
work In rescuing and caring for the men.
A few minutes after the accident occurred
the river was filled with rescuers in row.
boats.
All the men who escaped with their
vented further work, although several of
the victims, horribly injured f1oated hun
dreds of yards down the river before they
were saved. A call was sent to Berwick
town were early on the scene and they
together with the Mif1inville physicians.
gave the injured. men every attention.
Search for Missing Men.
When daylight came today search was
resumed for the bodies of the three miss
ing men.
The river is still in flood and slowly ris-
ing. For this reason it may be some days
before the three bodies that are believed
to be pinned In the wreckage of the bridge
can be recovered.
The accident was due to flood in the
North branch of the Susquehanna river.
The second span of the bridge was nearly
ready to swing into splace, and was to
have remained on the traveller until today.
The traveller was supported by false work,
which was either undermined or was
knocked down by driftwood. One of the
workmen says that just before the crash
he saw large amount of driftwood strike
against the false work.
Forty men were preparing to cease work
when the bridge collapsed without mo-
ment's warning, and all were hurled into
the river. Some were pinned down under
the heavy beams, while the uninjured were
in peril of drowning in the icy water.