Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1921-09-15
FIND "a BODIES
IN CHESTER RIVER
Bridge Collapse Puts City In
Mourning For Victims.
HEROIC WORK OF RESCUE
Crowds Following Trained Bear Saw
Boy Drown and Overloaded the
Bridge.

Boy Drown and Overloaded the
Bridge.
Chester, Pa. - Tweny-four bodies
have been removed from the wat
ers of the Chester river beneath
Third street bridge, which collapsed,
throwing nearly hundred persons
into the muddy stream.
All have been identified. Police are
still graphing for the bodies of other
victims. But there may not be any
more
Three persons who were rescued
after the footpath Of the bridge buclzl-
ed are in a critical condition in the
Chester Hospital and may not live.
All the others who were rescued have
either fully recovered or are on the
mend.
Next to the Eddystone ammunition
works explosion during the war, no
disaster has so completely aroused
Chester and the surrounding country
as this catastrophe.
| All the dead lived in Chester, ex-
cept one, Mrs. Mamie Deitz, of Ash
land, Pa.
In all there were 25 bodies taken
from the water. One was that of
| Apostolos Apostolic, 3-year-old child
who had been drowned prior to the
bridge collapse, and who was the in
direct cause Of the tragedy. 1t was
the large crowd of people assembled
to watch the police dive for his body
which caused the structure TO give
way and nurl them into the water.
An investigation of the cause of the
| tragedy has been begun by Coroner
Drews, of Delaware county, who was
on the scene shortly after the disas-
ter and who has been continuing his
probe ever since The coroner said
! the bridge had been unsafe for years
and that he intends to determine upon
whom the responsibility should be
placed.
Identification of the bodies of the
victims was the occasion for many
| pitifnl scenes around the Chester NOR
que. Relatives of persons who were
missing, frantic with fear, besieged
the building and scrutinized the rows
of corpses in dread of finding the fea-
| lures of a loved one. Whenever a
body was recognized there was
| shrek and collapse. Quite a num-
Der of those who visited the morgue
did not find their relatives among the
dead, so it is believed there are still
some in the river.
! Twenty-four others who were thrown
into the water were rescued without
suffering any consequences more seri-
Gus than ducldng and fright. They
! were taken to the hospital, but dis
| charged
The disaster was indirectly brought
about ny the desire of Apostolic to see
trained bear that was being led
about the streets of Chester to exploit
a moving picture that was being hown
a the Edgemont theatre The young
ster was walking along the banks of
the river when Vincent Desmond, aged
Y, called to him that the bear was
coming down TIE street. The child
started to run, and had almost reach
cd The bridge when he slipped and fell
into the water. The Desmond boy
saw him fall and called for help. Two
! men in q rowboat rowed out to the
spot whore tie went down and began
diving fer the lads body.
The crowd that had been following
the trained bear, at the cry Of boy
drowned r ran to the west side Of the
bridge, where there is a wooden foot
path about Is feet wide. The throng
increased until more than 200 were on
the structure. Suddenly a creaking
noise was heard at the north end of
the bridge. Someone cried that the
bridge was breaking, and several tried
to get off, but it was too late There
was a dull thud, and the steel plate
supporting the wooden footpath gave
away, tumbling almost 100 of the
| spectators into the water
The screaming of those on the
southern end of the bridge could be
heard for blocks. Captain of Police
Cummings and Chief Davenport were
in the police station three squares
away when they heard the cries. Sum-
moning every available patrolman,
they FASTENED to the scene in automo-
biles. There they found a tangled
mass of humanity fighting for their
lives in the water. The first action
the police took was to get the others
off the bridge, and the work of rescue
started.