Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-27
48 PERSONS KILLED
IN HEAVY STORMS
Northeastern States and
Canada Suffer Lightning
and DoWnpour.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Forty-eight persons were killed yester-
day and last night in electric, hail ana
rain storms that swept down over On.
tario, Newfoundland and the North
eastern section of the United States.
At Brockville, Ontario, 80 we're killed
when lightning fired explosives aboard a
drill boat In the st. Lawrence River.
Four passengers were killed and one
was believed to have been fatally m
jured when a passenger coach of a
train bound from winnipeg to Toronto
plunged into the flooded Vermillion
River at Capreol, Ontario.
Also near Capreol the engineer of A
| freight train and six men, believed to
De tramps stealing rides, were killed as
the train ran into waShout and was
wrecked
Several trains we're stalled and manv
motorists were stranded by landslides
and waShouts at Sudbury, Ontario. but
no lives were lost.
A hailstorm sank 80 boats at Lums-
den, Newfoundland, and three fisher
men were drowned.
TWO were drowned when a gale ever
turned boat at Buffalo, where build
;ngs were unroofed, and a IS, O00- barrel
OIL tank was fired by lightning at Olean,
N. Y.
Lightning killed a 9-year-old girl
near HackettStown, N. j., and a farm
er near Carlisle. Pa. Heavy damage was
reported in New Jersey, PENNSYLVANIA,
ana other Atlantic seaboard States.
Bolt Ignites River Charge.
ROCKVILLE. Ontario, June 81
H1.-Explosion by bolt of lightning
OF several charges of dynamite placed
IN the rocky bed of the st, Lawrence
River was blamed today for the death
OF 80 men, killed when the blast tore
the drill boat, j. B. King, to bits
only IL members of the crew of AZ
were rescued. These were picked I'D by
the United States Coast Guard cutter
I'll. Several of them were severely in
lured and were brought to hospitals
here
The drirl boat, which was owned bv
J. p. Porter & Sons of st. GATHERINGS.
ontario, was engaged in blasting a
channel through Brockville Narrows off
CocKourn Island on the eastern fringe
OF the Thousand Islands group yester-
DAY when the explosion occurred
Several holes had been drilled in the
rock and filled with dynamite and the
DAY crew was drilling additional holes
10 place more dynamite when an cleo
trlcal storm broke over the river about
4:3O pm. Many of the night shift were
asleep below the decks.
witnesses said they saw a flash of
lightning dart down to the boat. fol-
lowed Immediately by terrific explo-
sion. The air was filled with debris and
the drill boat had disappeared.
Says No Powder Aboard.
Some reports were that there had
been large quantity of dynamite
aboard the j. B. King. which had been
exploded by the flash. Luther Kuchen-
becker, superintendent in charge of the
work, who was ashore at the time. said
there was no dynamite aboard the boat
He said the explosion was caused by
lightning following the steel drills which
were working in the rock or wires lead
Ing to the charges which had been
placed
Leo Marion, an inspector of the
public works department at Ottawa.
who was one of those rescued, esti-
mated there were three tons of dyna-
mite in the drill holes and expressed
the opinion that there also was a con-
siderable quantity in the boat. He
charged that an unidentified boat
passed at the time OF the explosion, but
did nothing to aid in the rescue.
The explosion was witnessed by the
crew of the United States Coast Guard
cutter oil. which was passing, in charge
of Capt. G. B. Lok, with NJ. r. Ras-
musSen. chief inspector of the Buffalo
district, aboard.
The cutter hastily made for the spot
and lowered a lifeboat. A number Of
men were seen clinging to wreckaee,
and while those near at hand were
hauled aboard the cutter, the lifeboat
picked up others. After landing IL
survivors, the cutter returned to the
scene and searched for others.
Three Bodies Recovered.
Among those rescued was c. J.. Brown
Of Ottawa, a member of the night shift.
He said he was asleep in his bunk
when the explosion happened. He said
be managed to reach a portfolio and
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