The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-16
Fire Which Follows flinders
Firemen and Police in
Their Rescue Work.
HOLES 200 YARDS SQUARE
WOmans Hand Seen Waving
From Auto as 1t Is Swal-
lowed Up.
Special Cobh Despatch 10 Tue suS.

PARIS. June 15.-Seven persons are
known to have lost their lives and enor-
nous damage was caused to property by a
torrential rain which prevailed here this
afternoon and which caused enormous
caveins at several places in the vicinity
OF the Elysee Palace.
Taxicabs and other conveyance travel
ling along the streets without warning
tumbled into the holes, which In places
were sixty or more feet deep. Firemen
and policemen made heroic efforts to res
cue people carried down in this way,
but escaping gas caused explosions which
hindered them In their work, and In one
case caused a fireman to fall back into
the hole with the fanting woman In his
arms
The first cavein was OF n portion Of
the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honore near
the Elysee Palace and the Ministry OF the
Interior. Six persons were rescued from
this collapse with the greatest difficulty.
Sides OF excavations on the Place de la
Concorde, the Boulevard Haussmann and
the subway collapsed in places and traffic
had to be suspended. Gas and electric
connections were broken and this caused
several explosions.
a taxicab was engulfed in the Place
SAINT Augustin, but the chauffeur and his
passenger we're rescued. The Place Saint
Philippe du Roule was engulfed for a dis
lance or zoo meters te5o feet) and the
eavein was twenty meters tsixty five feet)
deep at . o'clock this evening.
Thousands of curious persons passed the
| night in a torrential rain around the holes
In the streets In the Place st. Philippe du
| Roule. the Rue du Havre and the Place
st. Augustin where there are great gaps
23O yards square and 10 feet deep.
| 1t Is feared that a number OF people
/ lost their lives when taxis and carts fell
into the holes. The collapses occurred
! with such suddenness and to such an ex-
tent that many vehicles slipped down the
sides OF the chasms. The loss of life
would certainly have been heavier but for
the fact that people were driven to the
shelter Of doorways and cafes by the tor
rental rain.
Firemen who rushed 70 the scenes OF
the collapses attempted to descend into
the holes but We're prevented from doing
so owing to the escaping gas and the
trcacherous nature OF the soil The com.
pressed air mains also burst and the ali
rushing from the pipes with terrific nois,
added to the terror. In many sections the
thoroughfares trembled as IL shaken by
an earthquake and then collapsed.
In the Boulevard Haussmann the fire.
men made heroic efforts 10 reach the bot.
pavement which had collapsed. One fire
| ,i.a
turned minute later with fantnl
woman in his arms His comrade:
stretched OUT their hands from the edg,
OF the pit to seize the brave rescuer wher
) "A terrific explosion of gas was caused b,
spark from short circuit TIL,
/ rescuer and the woman fell back into tn,
chasm. This was only one of a dozen OF
more similar tragedies
A taxicab which was going along I'll,
Place Saint Augustin suddenly disap
peared In n chasm. The hremen reache,
the taxi an hour later and found tn
chauffeur and an unidentified woman pas
{ senger dead.
| The subway was invaded by water a
most of the stations and all train
{ stopped running.
SeVehtS-three mllimeteFs t2.sfi inches
5 OF rain fell in twelve hours. which is an ul
4 precedented fall in the annals OF the Pari
Weather Bureau. The mass of water tina
fell is calculated at 100000 cubi
!. meters Water measuring machines wer
broken or thrown out of gear by tn
: torrential downpour, The barometer fe
1853 millimeters between 80 and p. NJ
, II was the most violent storm I'm pari
E within living memory.