The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-28
TWENTY OF DEAD MEN TAKEN OUT
 OF CHARNEL PIT Twenty Miners Still Be- lieved Ent0mbed At t
 Shanktown, Pa. NINE INJURED ARE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL Gas Explosion Similar To John son City Catastrophe Thought
 Cause Of The Disaster

SdANhIOWN,iP Pa., Jan. zt.-kby Associated Press.)-Forty men lost their lives in the explosion which late yesterday wrecked the Lancashire mine of the Barns and Tucker Coal company. here, according to the best estimates ob- tainable late today.
 Twenty bodies have been brought out, and nine miners, who were saved by the prompt efforts of another miner, are in hospitals. Experienced rescue crews led by J. D. Parker of the Pitts burg station of the bureau of mines, are working in one hour relays to pen citrate the workings and reach the en- tombed men.
 All hope that any is alive has been abandoned.
 While no one is quite sure," said Engineer Parker, there is every reason to believe there were forty victims of the mine disaster. There is hardly a possibility that twenty other min CTS escaped. The rescue work is pro- ceeding favorably. We expect to have the mine completely explored tonight"
 Families Vainly Wait The women and children who last night stood in the biting cold and blinding snow waiting vainly for some
 
 go to their homes on the hill above the opening by the Red Cross nurses and the Salvation Army workers under Colonel Arthur Hopkins, general sec retary for the Western Pennsylvania who hastened here from Johnstown knew the earth had fallen in from that city.
 Five troopers of the state police ar rived from the Greensburg barracks this morning and established a patrol around the pit mouth.
 John Yico, a miner, was on his way to work in the night shift shortly be- fore o'clock yesterday when he saw a great volume of smoke burst from the pit. Without hesitation. he ran in to the mine and almost immediately l came upon a pick and smashed bucket Running along for almost a mile, he shouted at the mouth of ev- cry gallery, but got no response un- til he was near the sixth heading. Here a faint cry answered him, and his search was rewarded by finding nine men alive, but some of them border ing on unconsciousness.
 Soak Handkerchiefs
 He induced them to soak their hand ] kerchiefs in water and tie them about their faces. He quickly found an air passage and leading the weak and staggering men along it's entire length he finally came to a point where he knew the earth had fallen in from above. He then helped them one by one to climb to the surface and safe tty. T ' I Three other men who were not killed by the force of the explosion managed l to make their way to another air pas sage and later in the night gained their freedom. A fourth miner dashed along the main entrance, but was overcome by gas and perished.
 The rescue parties as they penetrated the workings reconstructed the scene when the explosion occurred. At q point between number 6 and number z right headings, John Yendler, a motorman was taking an empty trip into the mine, and with Mike Mitkitko. | the rope rider, met the explosion full face. Yendler was blown the length of | fourteen cars and decapitated while | The cars were piled, broken mass of splintered wood and twisted iron along | the entry.
 There was also mute evidence to the | emergency men that all brattices and doors had blown away and the gas left free to circulate in the workings beyond the seventh heading. The Lancashire mine was opened 20 years ago and last November was sold to the Barns and Tucker Coal com pany. whose general offices are in Phil adelphia.