Omaha daily bee., 1917-04-28
BLAST ENTOMbS
SCORES BENEATH
TRINIDAD SHAFT
Scores, Alive or Dead, Trapped
by Explosion in Smoke Filled
Levels Thousands of Feet
Below Mountain.
RUMORS OF A WAR PLOT
Company Officials Discredit
. Report, Attributing Dis
aster to Gas"
MINERS FATE UNKNOWN
RUMORs OF A WAR PLOT
MINERS FATE UNKNOWN

Trinidad, Colo, April 27.-One hum
dred and twenty-five men caught in
the Hastings mine of the Victor
American Fuel company, by an ex-
plosion at $50 this morning still were
entombed tonight while rescue squads
slowly were working their way through
the smoke filled slope to the main
workings 5000 feet under the NOUN
tain where the unfortunate men were
believed to be imprisoned.
Whether any OF the men arc alive is
unknown, but company officials are
hopeful that they escaped the effects
of the explosion and will be able to
hold out during the resulting fire and
smoke until the rescuers reach them.
Evidence Of Gas Explosion.
At last reports the helmet squads,
led by Superintendent Cameron, who
re-entered the mine after the first
group OF unprotected recuers had
, been forced to retreat, had penetrated
the main slope to depth Of | 200 feet.
Evidence OF gas explosion was
found at this depth, but there was
no trace of the men, all of whom are
believed to be in the main workings,
nearly 200 feet further in.
Rumors that the explosion was the
result of bomb plot were discounted
by company officials, who pointed out
that the mine was known as gas
mine" and that similar explosion
had occurred in 1918, \
Company officials insisted that the
explosion was slight and that the
greatest danger to the men was from
the fire and smoke. The ventilating
system apparently was damaged and
the fans were kept working pumping
fresh air into the workings.
Ninety Are Miners.
Ninety OF the men caught iii the
mine are miners, the others being
company men. Among the latter are
Mine Inspector David Reese, David
Williams, pit boss, and H. J. Millard,
fire boss.
Besides the rescue squads of the
Victor American company in Hastings
canyon, rescuers were called from the
camps OF the Colorado Fuel and Iron
company's camp in Berwind canyon,
Just across the hill from the scene OF
the accident.
The Hastings mine is situated three
miles up Hastings canyon from Lud-
low, which stands at the entrance to
the Hastings and Berwind canyons,
twenty miles from Trinidad The
main. slope OF the Hastings mine is
driven straight into the mountain,
with only slight pitch, to the pres
cnt workings, which -are back some
5000 feet from the entrance. The
mine normally employs about one
hundred men to shift and has a ca
pacity Of 1000 tons day.
Can't Be Heard on Surface.
In holding out hope that the men
caught in the mine might have es-
capped instant death, company officials
asserted that the explosion apparent
ly was slight. 1t was not OF sufficient
force, they said, to be heard on the
surface.
The first indication of trouble was
cloud OF black smoke which bill
lowed from the mouth of the slope.
Superintendent Cameron hastily or
ganized rescue force of FIVE men
and entered the slope, but the smoke
and heat from the fire within was so
intense that they soon were forced to
retreat.
Another rescue force was organized
and equipped with oxygen helmets.
These mel, eight in number and
again led by Mr.. Cameron, re-cntered
the mine determined to reach the im-
prisoned men. Whether debris from
the explosion was blocking the slope
farther back had not been determined
at last reports.