Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-24
TOLL Of DEATH
REACHES a. IN
MINE DISASTER
20 Whites and 64 Ne.
groes Killed in Dust
Blast.

Birmingham, Ala, Nov. 23.-(By The
Associated Press. s.)-Eighty-f bodies.
20 of them white men and Ga of ne
groes, lay Thursday night in under
taking establishments, the death toll of
a coal dust explosion Wednesday in
Dolomite coal mine No. 3 Of the Wood
ward Iron company, 16 miles west of
Birmingham. Eighty-two bodies We're
taken from the mine early Thursday
and Of the so injured, two succumbed.
company indicated that all of those re
naming in hospitals probably would re-
cover.
One white and II negro bodies had
not been positively identified Thursday
night and persons interested in them
besieged the undertaking establish
ments 1t was necessary to station
police at the entrance and only those
seeking the missing or relatives of
those known to have lost their lives
We're admitted.
The explosion was declared by min
ing experts to have been freak. and
so far as local records show. only the
third of its kind ever 10 have occurred
in this country.
ed in 1882 and operated until Wednes-
day without serious accident. The
slope opens into the side 6f hill and
at an angle of 90 degrees runs 500
feet before reaching the level of the
workings. At the foot Of the slope is
the mine railroad yard, where dump
cars loaded with coal are assembled and
drawn by cable to the surface and up
the tipple. A string of these dump
cars broke loose on the incline, lit
orally dropped 500 feet to the yard
while great clouds of coal dust arose
with the impact, and a high tension
electric cable severed in the crash ig-
nited the dust.
Flames Sweep Slope
Only 500 feet from the surface. the
full force Of the explosion and the
accompanying flame swept up the slope;
the flash Of flame projecting beyond the
tipple several hundred feet and firing
wooden construction at the top. The
tipple itself is of concrete and only
q wooden roof erected as n shelter was
destroyed. The mine and slope were
and it wes expected repairs
to the tracks and hoist would be made
in time TO resume operations Monday.
1t is believed about 40 of the men
who lost their lives were in the yard
at the foot Of the slope and were killed
by the concussion.
OF these. six were foreman, the blast
wiping out all of the mine bosses. The |
deadly after-damp formed Immediately |
and accounted for the remainder of the |
victims
A peculiar feature discussed by Off |
cials of the Woodward company was /;
the fact. that when rescue parties en- !
tered the mine. the carbide miners |
lamps on the caps of some Of the dead |
still were burning.
Safety Precautions
Safety precautions observed by the |
woodward company prevented an ap- |
1aliing disaster Four hundred the sew |
enty-fiye men We're in the mine at the |
time. The breaking of the electric |
cables in the crash and blast threw the !
circuit breakers and the motors oper- I
lting the ventilating fans came to a |
standstill, The mine is equipped with |
fans, run by gasoline mo-
tors, which once weekly have been on |
Grated for period of eight hours to .
keep them in working order. Three !
minutes after the blast the emergency
ans were in operation and 80 minutes !
ater the first miner TO emerge from
he slope appeared The mine was
cleared Of the after-damp within a
short time and the miners still inside
'eceived fresh air. The mine is con-
lected with Dolouifte No. /. and alto
sether there We're four exits to the
urface The miners in the inner work
ngs sought the three outlets not af- !
ected by the explosion and nearly all
II those nninjured emerged through
hose passages.
Dolomite No. 3 recently was inspect
'd by company, state and federal ex-
'erts and declared to be in perfect con
litiOn. 1t is known as gas free"
nine and precautions were observed to
prevent the forming of coal dust by
means of an elaborate sprinkling sys-
EN-.
II was the fourth great fatal mining
Isnster in the history of the Alabama
icld. In January, 1905. 112 miners
we're killed in the Virginia mine; 11J
ost their lives in the Banner mine.
april s, 1911, and 50 We're killed in the
'alos mine. May ), 1910. :
Other accidents resulted in death tolls
angling from 9 to 81, the total to date,
ncludins the Virginia, Banner. Palos
nd Dolomite disasters, being 600.