Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-08-31
Searchers After Bodies Find 1t
Impossible to Drag Victims
of Quebec Accident From the
Tangled Mass of Steel
LATEST ESTIMATE PLACES
NUMBER DEAD AT 70
Engineers at Scene Of Disaster
Declare MiScaIcuIation Of
Strength Of Material is Res
SponSible for Catastrophe,

Quebec. Aug. 30.-Although twen-
ty-four hours have elapsed since the
Quebec bridge crashed into the st.
Lawrence river, three score of the un-
fortunate bridge workers are still held
in the hopeless tangle of iron and
steel at the bottom of the deep river.
A roll call today at noon confirmed
the early estimates of the dead. Sew
enty-nlne, not counting the men who
lie wounded in the Point Lewis hos
pital. failed to answer to their names.
Fifteen bodies lie in the city morgue
awaiting the result of the coroner's in
quest.
OF the total seventy-nine dead and
missing, sixteen are skilled American
mechanics.
Some of the bodies of the unfortun-
ate men can be seen below the sur
face Of the water, tightly wedged in
the ineXtricable network of steel,
where it is utterly impossible to reach
them.
Twenty-nine Indians and nineteen
white Canadians are missing.
Although tugs and rowboats spent
the day patroling the waters over the
wrecked bridge, the net result of their
work was the discovery of one body
WDltu was tdktH rum tHe WKttkdkt at
low tide this evening. This victim was
almost cut in two when found. and
the body had to be taken out in two
parts Another body wks located near
the anchor pier and an effort was
made to take it out. This was found
impossible, however, the whole lower
portion of the body being held in a
grip Of steel which it was found inn
possible to break.
The Dominion government has ap-
pointed a commission consisting Of
Deputy Minister Of Railroads Butler
and Colingwood Schrieber, chief en-
gineer to investigate the cause OF the
disaster The special commission viii
be assisted by Chief Engineer Hol-
gate. of the city Of Montreal
Several engineers visited the scene
of the accident today 1t was evident.
they said, that there had been a mis-
calculation of the tensile strength Of
the material in some spot. and that the
weak spot had given away under the
immense strain OF the hundreds of
thousands of tons of Steel and that
this had at once upset the balance
and proportion of the structure and
caused the collapse.
Today the bridge employees were
busy looking for the bodies among the
piles of iron on the shore. Women
were sitting on the logs weeping. and
as a body was brought ashore there
was a wild rush to see If II was that
OF a lost relative. As the bodies were
found they were carried to one of the
eompany's buildings and from thence
taken to the morgue. The general es-
innate of the dead Is seventy-nine
The estimate. given out at the Phpenix
Bridge company's office Is Canadians,
is; Indians. 2S: Americans, II. The
officials refused to give out any
names at present They also state
that five Canadians, four Indians and
three Americans are among the in
jured at the Point Lewis hospital.
The Quebec Bridge company Off
cials place the number of dead at sew
enty-eight.
The two piers Of the bridge appear
to be still solid and 1t is evident that
the accident did not accur through the
giving away of,the masonry, but seems
to have beep caused by the weight Of
the iron About seven hundred feet
of the bridge gave way.