Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1925-03-19
RESCUE PARTIES
HOPE To REACH
VICTIMS TODAY
Little Hope Held Out for
Finding Any of Party
Alive, West Virginia
Inspector Declares

FAIRMONT, w. Va, March 49,
Y. Nj. Lambic, chief mine inspector
Of West Virginia, declared in a state
ncnt issued shortly after noon to-
day that rescue workers would not
be able 10 reach the "a cntombed
miners in mine Al Of the Bethlehem
Mines operation before late tonight.
FAIRMONT, West Va, March 1S.-A
hundred Or more men were cautiously
pushing their way through the under
ground rcccsses Of mine number Al of
the Bethlehem mines corporation three
miles southwest Of here, today i'll an
effort to find "a miners who were en-
tombci last night when an explosion
wrecked the shaft
Not since sheet Of flame burst up
through the opening that extends 300
feet below the ground has anyone on
the surface heard from the imprisoned
men. low rumbling preceded the eX-
plosion, which wrecked the mines light
ing equipment ani fans, caused the
and which shock buildings in Farmont,
broke windows and shook doors from
their hinges in houses 800 feet away
Since that moment crowds Of frantic
women and children miled about the
mine trying to find some word Of the
entombed men. Only two rescue work
ers had been able to send word to the
surface, and that word was not cncour-
aging. r. NJ. Lambie, chief mine in
spector Of West Virginia and COM
panion we're the first to 20 down. They
stable where the mine horses were kept.
All the 36 animals were dead Then they
pushed on into one Of the headings.
The air vas bad, they said. That was
all. They could find no trace Of the
men, and when they came to the sur
face experts from every mine in the
district organized themselves n 0
groups, ready to explore every heading
to its farthest reaches.
While not definitely determined, gas
was believed to have caused the ex-
ploson and late last night Mine Super
intendent Benton. Mitchell said de did
not believe any Of the men could be
alive. Lambie, however, said this morn
ing the work would 20 on as though
everyone was alive.
Soon after the explosion occurred
there were reports that dynamite
bomb had been dropped into the shaft
but these were later denied. The mine
opened on non-union basis last Oc-
+yha apI ~ aIa H.
entombed were coal cutters and their
helpers Of the night shift.
Last nights explosion was the sec
ond within the mine in less than ten
years. On October !, 1915, gas ex-
plosion killed ten men. The mine has
been equipped with every modern device
since that time and it was believed
safe. 1t was 50 pronounced on Monday
by deputy mine inspector who ex-
amned it,
The fact that Lambc and his COM
panon could find no trace Of the men
near the shaft was not considered un
unusual, as all the miners were be-
lieved working a considerable distance
away. The mine has been in opera
tion for number of years and has ex-
tended more than mile and half from
the shaft. 1t was thought none Of the
cutters were nearer than half mile
and most Of them probably a greater
distance from the spot where the eX-
plosion occurred.
Iambie reported that the mine was
badly damaged and that the rescue
workers would find il hard going
thrnnrh the shattered nassaraWavs