New Britain herald., 1916-07-25
EXPLOSION UNDER LAKE ERIE
 KILLS 2, POLICE ESTIMATE
Gas Fumes Baffle Res- cuers, Who Make He- roic Efforts to Lib- crate Men in Tunnel
SACRIFICE LIVES IN
 VAIN RUSH TO HELP

VAIN RUSH TO HELP Three Brought to Surface Five Miles
 From Shore Taken to HospitaI. But " Gases Are Considered Hopeless
 Superintendent in Peril While Lead
 ing Squad to Rescue Of His Men
 Far Underneath Ground.
 Cleveland, Ohio, July 25.-Twenty- two men are dead and half a dozen others dying as the result of an ex- , plosiOn of gas in the water works tun- Apel five miles from shore underneath Lake Erie late last night. The dead include workmen who were trapped in the tunnel when gas exploded and members of two rescue parties who attempted to save the men first trapped.
 Of the dead eleven were in the ffPrce trapped by the explosion. None of these escaped. The first rescue party consisted of seven men. Four of them perished. The second rescue party comprised eleven men. Six of these lost their lives. The first rescue party accomplished nothing. The second saved one of the first relief expedition. No one has yet reached any Of the original eleven caught in -the workings. Of the eight rescuers Who got out alive two died later. The others may die. Two men were also overcome by fumes who did not go into the tunnel.
 A third rescue party entered the tunnel at 8:3O and brought, out alive Gustav c. Van Duzen, superintendent of water works construction, who had headed the second relief force. Van Duzen may die from his experiences. One body also was brought out by the third rescue party. This was a lnem- Der of the second rescue crew. It had been supposed that Van Duzen had perished.
 The tragic fate of the rescuers in the first and second instances was due to the fact that they worked with out oxygen helmets, which were not <svailable.
 The third rescue party was equipped with helmets.
 Early this morning three members of a rescue party headed by Van Du- zen who were found in the air lock, were brought to the surface at the outer crib, five miles from shore. Eff forts to revive the men with lung motors were made, and they respond ed. but 1t is believed their cases are hopeless.
 It is feared that the rest of Van Du- zen's party have met the same fate as the others trapped in the deadly tunnel fumes.
 Axe Admits Rescue Squad. The explosion of gas occurred about 3 hundred feet from the crib in the new tunnel which will connect with the big filtration plant recently erect ed on the west side. Ten men were caught in the shaft. Eight men who were in the crib at the time and heard the explosion, rushed down to Investigate They found the air lock damned but William Dolan, lock ten- SSer, cut his way through from the ih- side with an axe and admitted the rescuers. They plunged into the tun- nel but themselves were overcome. Dolan managed to drag John Johnson and Peter McKenna out and get them to the elevator in the crib shaft. All three were in a dazed condition from the gas, but managed to reach the crib and the alarm was given. Rock
  was used to bring aid.
 Life savers and the fire tug crews rushed to the crib and organized the remaining workers at the crib into a rescue party in an effort to reach the sixteen imprisoned men, but no head way could be made on account of the gas.
 Rescuers Overcome. se Finally Van Duzen arrived and with .ten picked men started into the tun- neI. They got through the air lock g. and rescued Michael Keough, one of M the first party of rescuers, but most @ of the Van Duzen party were over # come by the gas and the rescue was M abandoned.
 Michael Gallagher and Leroy Dunn, vathe only survivors of the second res sue party, took Keough to the crib shaft where he was partially revived by use of a pulmotor. When the ele- vator car descended, Keough, tempor- art1y unbalanced by his experiences, threw himself under the car and was injured. He was taken to a hospital. A third rescue party was organized in A an effort to reach some of the Van Duzen party, Thomas z. Clancey and stephen F. Van Duzen taking the lead. They reached the air lock and through the bulls eye could see four men of the Van Duzen party lying in side. By smashing the glass Clancey and the others, although partially overcome by the poisonous gas, man. aged to drag out three men. When they got to the surface the men were apparently dead, but strenuous efforts made to revive them succeeded.
 A general call for gas helmets has been sent out and with these it is ex-
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