The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-21
Many Persons Lose
 Their Lives. AN EXPLOSION OF GAS INA DEEP SEWER FRENCH Water Main Bursts and Some Are
 Drowned. A Mother and Three Little Children Lost Their Lives When. Sidewalks Toppled IntO the Trench.
 Scenes of Intense Ex-
 - eafement.

persons are believed to have lost their lives in an explosion of gas which tore up great section. of Gold Street, Brooklyn. today.
 It is defnitely known that fifteen persons were buried under the hun- dreds of tons of earth and timber that were thrown into the air by the ex- plosion, and ten more persons are re-; ported as missing. The exact number of dead cannot be determined until to- the entombAd bodies must dig through fifty feet of dirt. rock and tangle of pipes and timbers.
 The explosion occurred in hfty-foot deep excavation that had been made in Gold Street between York and Front Streets where . water main was be- ing laid.
 The gas main recently sprung leak and in 8 manner unknown a spark came in contact with escaping gas today. Immediately there was ter- rife explosion that lifted the surface of the street for half a block in both directions and hurled dirt, paving stones and debris into the air.
 When the smoke and dust cleared away, 1t was seen that the street had been opened from door step to door step over an area of nearly block. The Ioosened. earth and debris had fall- en into the excavation. -buryipg the score of 1aborers who were at work when the accident occurred.
 Great tongues of flames shot out of Arrevices in the street and beside them geysers of water leaped into the air from a water main that had been shat tered by the explosion. Two bodies were sticking out of the wreckage.
 Escmpe of Chsldren.
 Gold Street was crowded with school children when the explosion occurred and that scorea of children were not Killed or injured tp remarkable.
 A woman Arld three children were alrnnst opposite the excavation when the earth crumbled under their feet and they were swept down into the hole under tons of wreckages Two other children were on the opposite side of the street caved in and they lost their lives.
 samuel Trout, foreman of the gang of laborers who were laying the water main, was near the woman and three children who lost their lives. He rush. ed forward as he felt the street trem- ble, in an endeavor to save them, but he. too, was drawn into the death hole. His body was the first to be re- covered. Trout had been roasted to a cinder.
 Only four of the men working in the excavation escaped. and their escape was remarkable. They were digging near the opening of four-foot sewer, and the force of the explosion blew them to the entrancS of 1t. Arthur Strand was hurled Tarthest and he pulled the other thfee men after him.
 Water from the broken main began to hour into the sewer and the four men in danger of being drowned, start ed to run toward the river where there was an outlet to the sewer. They es- capped after the water had risen to their necks.
 AEaya blocks around. Thousands of persons were attracted to the scene.
 Women living in the neighborhood whose children had been on the street when the gas main blew up, rushed to the scene and ran about the eNca- Vation wringing their hands and call ing for their little ones. In many in stances they found their children af- ter a brief search. but a number of bows and girls had been taken into school nearby and their parents were frantic by the time they were found.
 The gas and water supply were turned off shortly after the explosion. A force of 100 firemen was then put to work digging for bodies but the task was necessarily slow because of the nature of the wreckage which had to be removed.
 Dead and Missing.
 Those known to be dead are: Sam uei Trout. foreman; Frederick Scheh- never inspector of sewers; Charles Farrell. foreman of concrete workers; Gustave Anderson, foreman of carpen- ters.
 The missing: Unknown woman. who was with children; unknown girl. about years old; John O'Grady. 6 years old; William Dalton, $ years old; Vincent Doherty. years old; Clarice Brady, years old; Alexander Johnson. labor CT: Chris Cosino. laborer: Emil Each man. laborer; Francisco Armando. la- borer: John Armando, laborer; Charles Nelson. laborer; Gus Wallo. faborer; Felix Green. laborer; Gus Kane. la borer: Samuel Abrams. laborer: John crane laborer: laborer known as Francisco; two Italian laborers. known as Nos Bl and 52; laborer known as Christopher. u,ere attached to the city departments in charge of the work that was being done.
 Firemen and workmen from the city department and the gas company worked desperately together in an eff fort to check the flow of gas and water and to relieve the men who had been imprisoned. There seemed little hope, however. that any of those who had been at work at the bottom of the trench could have escaped death. Nearly half an hours work was required to reach the body of Trout who had been burned to death on the surface of the street. The bodies of the other men arc believed to be buried under tons of earth.
 The explosion was followed by scenes of the most intense excitement. Every building for blocks around had been severely shsken and 1t was at first feared that serious damage had been sustained by some of them. Among the buildings in the vicinity which received nearly the full force of the shock, are a large Roman Cath ole Church and parochial school.
 It required all the efforts of the po- flee to keep the crowd back out of aaugsT and to keep them from inter