The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-03
Two Explosions in Coal
Mine Kill Eighteen
Men.
HEROIC ATTEMPT
AT RESCUE FAILS
Following First Explosion, in
Which Thirteen Lives Are
Lost, There Is Another, and
Five Members of Rescuing
Party Are Killed-Cause
Not Yet Known.

PottsvilIe, Pa, August 2-Eighteen
men were killed and two seriously
| Injured to-day In "A double explosion In
the East Brookside mine of the Philn-
| dcIphin md RendlnE Conl and Iron
Company, ncnr here, by a double ex-
pIosion of what ia believed TO have been
dynamite md gas. Thirteen men died
In the first explosion aud Ave met
death in the second blast. after an
heroic attempt TO rescue the frst vic
| Tins. One of the rescuern escaped.
The dead:
Daniel NJ. Giniey. aged forty-eight,
! Tower City; leaves wife and seven
Henry Murphy, nifty, fire boss, Tower
City; wife and three children.
John Farrell. forty-nine. foreman,
Tower City, wife and ten children.
Howard HIND, tvepty-one, lnborer
OF Muir single.
Harry Hand. tventy-four, miner,
Muir; wife and three children.
jacob Kopenhnver, twenty-six. shaft
! man, IL cinerton; wife and two children.
Thomas BENNY, thirty, minor, Reiner-
| ton; wife md two children.
John Endisc.
Cnrrcni Cnmpnni.
! Victor Senne.
CcVidin Grozinno.
Five unidentified italian vorkmen.
The bodies OF two dead have not
been recovered.
| They are Daniel Farley. forty-tvo.
Arc boss. Tower cityi wife and SIX
children.
John Feslcr, forty-siI, miner, Tower
city; wife and two children.
Cnu.e In Not known.
! IT Is not known exactly what caused
| the explosions but the miners at the
! colliery are inclined TO the belief that
he hrst explosion was that OF dyna-
mite and the second was caused by
gas which had been liberated by the
dynamite explosion. The dead were
| scattered about for a distance of about
quarter OF a mile. Only three men
were taken out alive. and one OF these
died on the way TO the hospital.
Superintendent John Lorenz. sixty
years old. was in the mine when the
! first explosion occurred. He was res
cued several hours later. Harry Schoff-
| stall was another taken out alive. Both
were burned and bruised, but are eS-
pected TO recover.
Superintendent Lorenz was found
GROWING along the ground trying to
make his way through the debris 10
safety. 1t Is possible that the real
story of the explosion may never be
known. as all who were in position
to know, were killed. While Superin-
! tendent Lorenz was in the mine at the
time of the first explosion. he was
about coo feet from the blast. and II is
not thought that he knows the cause.
He was not In n condition TO talk to-
night While the Impression seems TO
be that the first explosion was that OF
dynamite. il is possible IL might have
been due to gas. The men were killed
in three different ways. Some OF them
were violently hurled against the side
Of the tunnel In which they were work
| ing and crushed. Some were burned TO
i nv and
others were sunocated by the after
damp which always follows an explo-
| sion In the mines
All Hut Five Identified.
| All but five OF the men killed We're
readily identified. The five unidenti-
ted had no relatives in this vicinity.
| With a few exceptions. all the for
| eign workmen were brought here from
| distance.
The East Brookside Colllery has
about 500 employees. 1t is located on
top OF the mountain about two miles
west of Tower City. and within the
| same distance Of a half dozen other lit
! tie mining towns in the Williams VAL
| ley. The colliery closed down Thurs
day evening for the week, but Charles
| Portland, mining contractor who has
contract with the Reading Company
| to drive n tunnel. kept some of his men
at work. There were half dozen
load the debris blown down by the
blast. which are fixed at night. There
! was also q mucker boss and a black
smith and his helpers. All were at
work in the tunnel. which is about a
| quarter OF mile from the slope en-
! trance to the mines
| Superintendent Lorenz and Mine
| Boss Farrell were in the mine making
| an inspection of some new work
| which was TO be done, and We're about
| 600 feet from the tunnel in which
! Italian workmen were engaged. IT
| was shortly before noon when the
| men on the surface heard a rumbling
noise and from the mouth of the slope
| and from the air passage way at the
| far house there came clouds of dust.
The outside men realized there had
| been an explosion, and a rescue party
quickly was organized. The rcscucrs
| were lowered in the stopc, a depth Noi
| 1,200 feet at a pitch OF 80 degrees
| down to the fifth lift next to the bot
tom of the mine. 1t is judged that the
second explosion occurred about TWEEN
ty minutes after tho first. The res
! cucrs had walked about 600 feet from
the mouth of the stope. where they
were found lead.
Five foreign workmen were found
| dead in one pile in the tunnel
| Mine Rescue Car to Scene.
| AS soon as the nature Of the acci-
| dent became known. word was sent to
officials Of the Philadelphia and Read
ing Coal and Iron Company, at Potts
| Vile. and they promptly sent the mine
| rescue car to the scene. Rescuers
made their way with great difficulty
| The first brought out were the mem
bers Of the rescuing force, who had
| gone to the relief OF the victims of
| the first explosion.
Doctors from all parts OF the region
were summoned Two Of them de-
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