New-York tribune., 1918-05-10
; Believed Dead in
Subway Cave-Ir1;
s Men Rescued
Workers Imprisoned Six
Hours Under Debris in
Flatbush Avenue

At least three men are believed to
have been crushed to death under thou
sands of tons of sand and boulders
when section of the new Flatbush
Avenue subway in Brooklyn caved in
Wednesday night. A big gang of men
has been working ever since the acci-
dent occurred clearing away the debris
but the bodies may not be recovered
for twenty-four hours. owing to the
difficulty Of the work.
Eight men, trapped between the head
of the tunnel and the slide. were res
cued at A o'clock yesterday morning,
after six hours of feverish labor by
fifty picked tunnel workers, every one
of whom risked his life at least a
dozen times in the course of the night
The heroic band had to burrow through
| fifteen feet of loose sand and gravel,
and build snoring as they went along.
Throughout this perilous operation the
loose dirt settled unsteadily, and there
was danger that the narrow drift in
them.
To the entombed men the six hours
consumed in digging the narrow tunnel
through which they escaped seemed
like an eternity. When they finally
crawled through the drift they ap-
peared haggard and spent. Several were
hysterical.
When the eight had been released
and the officials of the Degnon Con-
struction Company, builders of the
subway, had checked off the names of
all their employees working in that sec
tion Of the tunnel where the slide oc-
Cured, it was found that only three
men were missing. All hope for their
rescue was abandoned. The men
thought to be dead are:
Richard Bentor, gang foreman. 2s4
Fourth Street, Jersey City.
M; Brown. 2o3 West Thirteth Street,
William Skates, 26S Bergen Street. Brook
lyn.
The men rescued are: A; M. Davis. negro
275 Bergen Street Brooklyn; J. Frasnich
% Chestnut Street. Brookyn Edgar Gard
ner. 369 Hudson Avenue, Brooklyn: Pau
Gresenayitch, 22 Chestnut Street Brooklyn
Frank Moltke. % Chestnut Street, Brooklyn
Charles Noel, negro, Is Lexington Avenue
Manhattan.
The three men believed to be deat
are said to have been working in s
trench, five feet deep under the floor
of the subway. They are thought to
1
the food of sand and gravel, with nc
possible chance of escape.
The. engineers of the Degnon com.
pany believe the accident was caused
by some of the workmen digging toe
| deep around one of the snoring tim.
bers. Only q small section Of the
Snoring gave way.
The space in which the eight work
men were imprisoned was about thirty
l., IL
feet wide.
The rescue party forced pipe through
the loose dirt and fresh air was
pumped into the hole while the work OF
rescue proceeded.
Edgar Gardner, one of the rescued
men, told how he and his companion.
had spent the time till they were freed
'"All of US had electric torches," sale
Gardner, land we could see the sand
We had difficulty in breathing after 6
while and some of the boys put thei,
mouths to the earth, sucking in a BIZ
of air through the damp soil. All OF
us had spells of dizziness before the
air pipe was forced through. Even
after the men outside had begun to
pump air into our cave we became
drowsy, for the. atmosphere was foul
and some of the boys actually fell
|
hearing the boys working on the out.
side"
Waldo C. Briggs, engineer in charge
Of the work, said it might take twenty
| four hours or more to dig down tc
| the bodies of the men killed.
Public Service commissioners Whit
ney, Hervey and Kracke; Chief En-.
| gineer Daniel l.. Turner of the com.
mission, Robert Ridgeway. engineer OF
subway constructions; Chief Engineer
II. C. Sanford of the Degnon company
and Mr.. Briggs spent most of the night
at the tunnel. Mr.. Ridgeway said thai
apparently the accident was unayoid
able. -.
The accident occurred about 100 feet
below the surface of Flatbush Avenue
about 200 yards south Of its junction
with Eastern Parkway. The operator
Of trolley lines over that part of Flat
bush Avenue was suspended. Stee
girders were inserted under the cal
| tracks to distribute the weight O.
traffic, as the engineers feared that thu
street might settle.