The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-11-30

white men and sixty-four those OF
negroes lay tonight in undertaking
blishments here and in Bessemer
the death toll OF coal dust explo-
sion yesterday in Dolomite Mine No.
3, of the woodward Iron Company
Is miles west of Birmingham
Eighty-two bodies we're taken from
the mine early today, and, of the
sixty injured, two succumbed. Re-
ports received by officials OF the
Woodward Company indicated that
while several of those remaining IN
hospitals were seriously hurt, pos
sibly all would recover.
The bodies of eleven white men
and sixty-four negroes were IN one
undertaking establishment in Bes-
semer. and while q large crew of
undertakers worked feverishly all
day preparing them for burial, hun
dreds of persons congregated in the
street about the place, anXlously
seeking news Of relatives or friends.
One white man and fifteen negroes
had not been positively identified
early tonight, and since all Of the
nameless ones were here, persons in
terested in them besieged the es-
tablishment 1t was necessary to
station police at the entrance and
only those seeking the missing, or re-
Iatives of those known to have lost
their lives were admitted.
The explosion was declared by
mining experts to have been a freak,
and so far as local records show, only
the third of it's kind ever to have oc-
Cured in this country.
S00-Foot Drop.
Dolomite No. 8 is a slope mine
opened in 1882, and operated until
yesterday without serious accident,
The slope opens into the side of a
hill, and, at an angle of so 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, literally dropped
500 feet to the yard, where great
clouds of coal dust arose with the
impact, and a high tension electric
cable severed with the crash, ignited
the dust.
Only 500 feet from the surface the
full force of the explosion and the
accompanying fame went up the
slope, the fash of flame projecting
beyond the tipple several hundred
feet and firing wooden construction
at the top. The tipple itself is of
concrete and only wooden roof er-
ected as shelter, was destroyed. The
mine and slope were undamaged and
it was 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 kill
ed by the conclusion.
hn
blast wiping out all Of the mine
bosses. The deadly after-damp form
ed Immediately and accounted for the
remainder of the victims. Faces and
hands of many of the dead were
scared by the flash of flame, while
other bodies bore bruises and cuts,
where they had been thrown against
the sides of the dump cars by the
force of the explosion.
A peculiar feature discussed today
by officials of the Woodward Com
pany was the fact that when rescue
parties entered the mine the carbide
miners headlamps on the caps Of
some of the dead, were still burning.
Safety precautions observed by the
Woodward Company prevented an
appalling disaster. Four hundred and
seventy-fve men were in the mine at
the time. The breaking of electric
cable with the crash and blast threw
the circuit-breakers and the motors
operating the vent;lating fans came
to standstill The mine is equipped
with emergency fans run by gasoline
motors which, once weekly, have to
be operated for period of eight
hours to keep them in working order.
Three minutes after the blast the en-
ergency fans were in operation, and
thirty minutes later the first miner to
emerge from the slope appeared. The
mine was cleared of the after-damp
within a short time and the miners
.Sf;1l incido rooo;vo6 froch air The