Evening star., 1922-11-06

terfihc explosion somewhere in the
workings in the Reilly mine of the
Reilly Coal Company here, at 80
o'clock this morning, entombed be-
tween ninety and ninety-hve miners
who had gone to their work scarce
ly half an hour before.
First Bodies Found.
The trst rescue party to enter the
mine after the explosion reported at
noon today that they had found
three bodies and feared that some,
If not all of the other ninety men
entombed are dead
The first two bodies removed from
the shaft were Identified as Thomas
Losue and Joseph Fritz
shortly after these bodies were re-
moved two living miners. fearfully
burned. were brought up and rushed
to hospital The men were un-
conscious and their recovery is re-
! garded as extremely doubtful.
The resCuers brought two more
bodies and two more unconscious and
! badly burned miners to the surface
| few minutes after the first victims
had been rescued. The dead are John
Planto and Michael Surick.
Regarded rs NOn-Gaseous
The Reilly mine was regarded as
nom gaseous and the miners worked
with open lamps The explosion was
so terrific that the machinery in the
| fan house was blown from its founda-
| ton. Foul air and after-damp quick
| ly filled the mine and rescuers re-
ported great difficulty in making
| progress toward the section where
| the main body OF miners were trap
ped.
Owing to the volume of gas in the
! mine, the rescuers worked in relays
and replacements were necessary at
brief intervals.
Mine Rescue Chr Arrives.
Mine officials said the number Of
men in the workings was less than
usual because Monday is light
working day.
The mine rescue car arrived in
| Spangler on schedule time early this
afternoon and the experts from the
bureau of mines at Pittsburgh went
| under ground shortly before . o'clock.
| Two more unconscious miners were
removed from the shaft few min
utes before the rescue train arrived.
Six living miners and four bodies
| have been brought to the surface
thus far.
| The rescue party entered the mine
| under the direction of Supt. o. ].
Flanagan and had proceeded to the
| third entry on the right of the main
| entry when they came upon the
bodies The dead miners were
| brought to the foot of the shaft and
the party went back for further ex-
ploration.
T! Pathetic Scenes.
The rescuers came to the surface
after their second trip into the mine.
but declined to give out any further
| information.
A second rescue party Immediately
went into the workings The res
cuers were composed of volunteers
chosen from hundreds of men who
had gathered at the shaft. Shortly
before the second crew went under
ground word was received that the
rescue car from Pittsburgh would ar
rive early this afternoon.
Silent groups of wet-eyed women
and children huddied together close
| to the mouth of the shaft, mutely
awaiting a CLEAN of hope from the
| miners who went down to search for
their husbands and fathers. A steady
rain was falling. but the women.
many of them bareheaded. paid little
attention to the weather.
Another Body Reported.
After the first rescuers came up,
some of the groups moved toward the
company's office. expecting that an
| announcement would be made. The
| rescue party Immediately conferred
: with company officials regarding the
| mass of debris which had halted their
/ progress. One of the rescuers said
| he thought fourth body had been
| found.
| The extent of the explosion has not
vet been determined. but at the office
of the company it was said it had
| been pretty bad"
! Mine rescue cars were at once or
dered from Pittsburgh and some
! noint in New York state. while news
| of the explosion. spreading rapidly
| through this region. brought scores
! of miners eager and anxious to help
! in the work of rescue. They were
being organized by trained leaders.
! and were ready in two hours to take
| the places of the first shift when 1t
came out of the mine.
! Many in Mine Married.
Most of the men who went to work
/ this morning were married and resided
in this vicinity. The news Of the ex-
plosions brought their wives and chill
dren to the shaft mouth. where they
gathered in dumb horror. hoping against
hope. ..
The shaft Is about 200 feet deep. It
was said by one Of the mine authorities
that one of the main entries was blocked
by falling debris 500 feet from the foot
| Of the shaft.
| There is q "man-way." which makes
another entrance to the mine, but wheth-
ha ~pfopnhod had hRen