Evening star., 1939-01-01
Res(uers Fight Fire
And Gas as Trapped
Miners Signal
Faint Message Tapped
Out on Phone Line by
20 Imprisoned Men
BULLETIN.

CLINTON, Ind. Jan. Sun
day. (P). - Rescue workers
reached the 20 miners trapped
in Crown. Hill Mine No. early
this morning and unofficial re-
ports said that two CT the first
eight being brought to the sur
face were dead
By the Associated Press.
CLINTON, Ind, Dec. 31.-A rescue
force of nearly 100 men, working in
relays, battled flame, smoke and gas
this New Years eve to save a score
OF coal miners trapped 1853 feet,
underground in Crown Hill Mine No.
6, near here.
One rescue squad reported fighting
its way through the fire and around
dangerous cave-ins to a point near
enough to hear faint signals, tapped
on mine telephone line, from the
imprisoned men.
The signals indicated the men
were safe and in no immediate
danger.
Mine officials said either 100 or
81" men were trapped by the roaring
underground fire The fire broke
out today on the same level on which
the group was working and between
the men and the main shaft
Ropes Hold Back Crowd.
A crowd estimated by State police
at 5000 persons gathered at the
mine tonight. Ropes were strung
to hold them back from the mire
entrance, out of which curled smoke
and gas from the fire.
Many of those in the crowd were
wives and children of the men
whose fate was in doubt. There was
no hysteria, however.
The rescue squad which pene-
trated nearest the trapped miners
reported to G. A. Herbert of Vincen-
mes, a Bureau of Mines engineer.
that the chances of reaching the
men were good" although cave-ins
added extra hazards to the rescue
work. This squad said the fire was
raging on 200-foot front.
Mr.. Herbert said the rescue work.
ers could get through and around
the flames, but that the big question
was getting through poisonous gases.
The mine cage was coming up
every few minutes, bringing out
rescue workers made i'll by gas and
smoke.
Worker Says Fire Bad"
Ellsworth Graves of Rosedale, one
of the rescue workers, came up
choking and vomiting after five
hours of fighting the fire and re-
ported:
THE fire is in bad shape, but
they're finally getting some water
on it. We tapped on the telephone
line to the men and got an answer
that they were all o. K. Down
there your head just feels like some
one was pounding on it, and then
you get awful sick"
Graves is a miner employed in
the mine and has a brother, Jim.
43, among the imprisoned men.
Harry Dunlap, a Clinton fireman.
came out of the mine and described
the situation inside like this:
Its all just lot of fire, with a
continual roar and rattle"
Dunlap said the rescue workers
had succeeded in getting air into
circulation in the mine, so as to
draw the gas and smoke away from
the men and out of the mine.
Through the tapped signals, the
trapped miners reported the air
around them was still good, Ellis
worth Graves said. They also re-
ported killig three mine mules in
order to conserve oxygen.
Another rescue squad, pulled from
the mine at 9 o'clock, its members
nauseated by carbon monoxide gas
fumes, said they believed crews
could reach the entombed men by
morning.
Tom Salmond, a member of the
squad so i'll he had to be assisted
to the washhouse, said, I'VE are now
making some effort to put the fire
| out"
He gasped out that the fire had
burned out walls which the squad
was building, and let loose a lot of
gas on U.s."
j. o. Hit, pit boss for a neigh
boring mine aiding in the rescue
work, said the carbon monoxide gas
was very difficult to detect.