Evening star., 1914-04-29
RESCUERS STRUGGLING
TO REACH ENTOMBED MEN
Officials Believe None of Those Trap
ped Can Escape With
Life.
rHE GOVERNOR HEADS RELIEF
Hoped to Penetrate Debris and
Reach Ill-Fated Death Shaft
During the After
noon.

: ECCLES. w. Va. April 20
Eight bodies have been recovered
from shaft No. E Of the New River
Golfers Company, which, with
shaft No. :. was wrecked by an
explosion late yesterday. SIXTY
seven men were taken out alive.
There are no more men in No. 0.
One hundred and seventy-elght
are buried in No. S, and officers OF
the company expressed the oPin-
ION this morning that none would
escape with his life.
rescue, party was dropped down shaft
No. soon after o'clock, and got within
10 feet of the bottom. There the prog
ress of the cage was stopped by broken
and twisted timbers and heavy 1aIl OF
earth. Work was commenced clearing
away the debris, and II was Thought the
bottom could be reached this afternoon.
No gas was detected on this level.
and mining experts expressed the pelleI
the mine was not on fire. Following Is a
list of the dead taken from mine NO. 8;
T. G.. Ligeman. mine foreman; A: w
Brongham chief electrician: Carl v
Warden, electrician. Joseph H. Carper.
Joe Harper. Henry MacMillion, William
Bostic d. l. Phillips, one colored man,
Two Hungarians-
( Governor Heads Relief Party.
GOV. H. D. Hatfield of West Virginia
j in charge Of the relief work, while
Earl Henry chief of the state depart
ment of mines. and H. c. Bayles. general
manager of the collieries company, are
leading the rescue crews.
The entrances to the mines are far
apart. but the workings join underground.
When the dust exploded In mine No. 3
the fumes entered No. shaft and there
the eight known dead were killed. Prompt
measures taken by Supt- Thomas Dom
aldson resulted in the rescue of sixty-one
from No shaft. Many Of those res
cued are burned severely. and improvised
hospitals here and at Beckley are crowd
ed.
When it was found shaft No was
burning the entrance was closed and the
entrances to No. workings We're brat
ticed The task Of finding the bodies in
No. ) shaft must wait until the flames
have been extinguished.
Believed None Escaped
General Manager Bayles believes all
nose in No. ) are dead. This belief is ac-
cepted by mining experts and by the rel
atives of the entombed men. 1t is not
believed one man in No. escaped alive.
as the sudden explosion was followed
quickly by outbursts of flames.
Most of the miners are American born,
although there are quite number of
foteign-born workers. Of the bodies re-
covered eight were white Americans. one
negro and two foreign-born.
The explosion wa sterrific. A rumbling
noise was heard through the town and
1a1
the mines timber, pieces of cars and
other debris shot from the mouth of No. )
shaft.
Many of those rescued said they were
overcome by the gas fumes before they
knew what had happened The first man
10 leave the mine shafts climbed to the
surface of No. hand over hand on
rope.
night from Cincinnati are expected dur
ing the day.
Hope That Some May Be Alive.
Y Hope that some Of the IFS miners i'm
prisoned in mine number FIVE might still
he alive stirred the throng on the noun
tainside shortly before noon A rescue
party, driven out by number SIX re-
ported they had heard sounds as of dig
gipg beyond the barriers OF debris con-
meeting the entry. A party of fresh
miners was hurried INTO the entry ana
attacked the fallen mass Of rock with
renewed vigor.
TWENTY-FIVE doctors have arrived here
and a carload OF coffins came today. A
4 great crowd has collected in the noun
fains silently waiting until the galleries
of number flve are unsealed and their
tragic story told.
SSurgical Supplies Rushed to Scene.
Medical and surgical supplies were
TODAY rushed to the scene of the rn1ne
disaster at Eccles. W. Va. by the
American Red Cross. Charles Jenkin-
son director of the Atlantic division of