The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-09-13

vivors were dazed for hours, and none had a clear idea of what had happened.
 The scene this morning was a blackened, flattened ruin, filtered with debris, surrounded by scared grass and trees, guarded by soldiers, marines and state highway patrol men and overhung by great pail of smoke. Fire apparatus, ambu- lanceS and hearSes from more than 20 towns were nearby. Spectators were kept three miles away. Among them were relatives of the missing and unidentified dead, and surviv- ing workmen of the plant, some of them in bandages.
 Hunt said that the plant had em- ployed from 1000 to 1900 men working in three shifts and that about 400 were on the grounds at the time of the explosion. There were 75 in the solvent recovery plant and approximately 30 in the other seven buildings of the pro- duction line. The solvent recovery unit had been put into operation last week when production was stepped up and 97 more men put to work to speed up government de- fense orders.
 Bodies Found 300 Feet Away
 Ten of the bodies were found on the wooded hillside 300 feet from the nearest building. All were mangled. Rescuers believed these men had run to the hill after the first blast and had been killed there by the second one.
 Many of those who escaped were burned by fire, acid or steam, or lacerated by flying debris. They had only fleeting memories of the scene at the time.
 Ed Powers, worker in the nitro glycerine room, said he looked out a window when he heard the first faint blast.
 About 25 yards across the lot l saw that new solvent recovery building with flames coming out of the windows" he said. Tt seemed to fall apart, part of it rising in the air. The explosion was awful Somehow went right through the wall of our building, only there wasn't any building. It was blown away, or something. It was only a mess"
 He remembered other men, some blinded by acid, some dazed by shock, running past him hunting places of shelter.
 Powers version was typical Al though the injured urvivors-those able to leave the hospital after treatment-spoke freely of sabotage when they gathered to discuss the disaster, none had been of much help to investigators.
 It was the worst munitions plant explosion in this country in recent times. The notorious Black Ton explosion, at Jersey City, N. J., or July 30, 1916, which subsequently was traced to German saboteurs and resulted only a year ago in German-American mixed claims commission awarding $50,0O0 ,00t damages to persons and firms ir this country, killed only four ano injured 100 persons
 None For Britain Hunt, who estimated the loss al $1 ,OOO ,O0O, said the plant was work ing almost entirely on explosives fol the army and that none of its or ders were for Great Britain.
 A few hours before the explosion the War Department in Washington had awarded new $500,000 con- tract to the Hercules firm. The explosions severely damaged this community, nearest it. Every window in town was broken, furni' ture wrecked, power lines torn dowr and pedestrians knocked to th' ground. Dover six miles away, hat windows smashed. The track of th' blast extended as far as Poughkeep' sic, N. Y, where the ground shool and dishes rattled.
 Motorists in New York noticed the ground shake and their auto mobiles slip. In Long Island Sound the compression of air whipped th' sails on boats. Windows were shat tered on a train approaching Hud son, N. Y. At Ossining, N. Y., Sint Sing prison inmates were startled by the shaking of dishes in thu mess hall.
 The destroyed units of the Her cules plant included two solvent re covery buildings. two mix houses two spill houses, two press houses two alcohol still structures and tws steam-drying houses
 The workers said that FBI mel had watched the meeting and ha noticed seevrai cars bearing tn small Identification plates Issued [ munitions plant workers. enterln the Bund camp. A check-np of thes Identification plates led to the dis mlssals, according to the workers. w. c. Hunt, operations director the plant, where b0.0O0 pounds smokeless powder had exploded. In sisted. however, that i've do not Sua pect anyone"
 60 OF More Dead
 pr. Mutchler's estimate Of so c more dead was made when h reached hia home at Dover th