Evening star., 1944-07-06
Final Effort Started
10 Save 81 Trapped
In Mine by Flames
~ the Associated Press,

~ the Associated Press.
BELLAIRE, Ohio. July Gin q
last desperate attempt to reach 64
men entombed deep in = flaming
mine engineers brought up drills to-
day to bore directly into shaft
where the miners were caught.
Whether any of them still lived
was unknown. Most oflcials of the
Powhatan mine, which erupted in
flame late yesterday when a fall
shorted trolley line, expressed fear
all were dead. The mine was sealed
this morning in an effort to halt
the fire.
But John Owens, president of
District 50, United Mine Workers,
demanded that q hole be bored di-
rectly to the tunnel and an attempt
made to contact the men. They are
about $50 feet below the surface.
George Mitchell. chief engineer
for Powhatan, said two high-speed
drills were expected momentarily.
I'VE still have hope they may be
alive" he said.
huOll IdC1AlSO, oM +" NlSC pACcA-
dent. said the men--if alive-could
be given air, food and water through
the hole, which would be about 8
inches in diameter.
New Tunnel Cut.
Fifteen hours after the fire start
ed, miles from the shaft entrance,
State Mine Inspector Richard Nc
Gee announced there was no chance
of the men escaping alive. Every
outside entrance to the mine was
ordered sealed.
Before the fire got out of control.
rescue workers had cut a new tun-
mel 500 feet through coal and rock
in a vain effort to bypass the
flames and reach the men.
The fire broke out at l pm. yes
terday when a rock fall broke a
high-voltage trolley and sizzling
sparks ignited coal near the junction
OF the main passageway and 3,600-
foot. dead-end corridor in which the
victims were working,
Ohio's Largest Seft Coal Pit.
The mine. the largest soft coal pit
In Ohio. is operated by the Powha-
tan Mining Co., IS miles south Of
here. ...q.
No word had been received from
the men since the fire broke out
Until 1 am. today, when sealing
OF the mine was decided on,
Marcus Kerr, chief of the State Di-
vision OF Mines, had expressed belief
the men could be reached.
Charles E. Young, assistant super
intendent of the mine, had asserted
that If the men could have barri-
caded themselves properly. they
could have held out five or six days.
Scores of relatives of the en-
tombed men were waiting hopefully
at the mine entrance when officials
announced the shaft must be sealed
1879 Men Were in Mine.
Closing the shaft cut off the oxy-
gen supply in an effort to force the
fire to burn itself out.
In the mine when the fire started
we're 1879 men. All but the "a, how
could reach exits safely. The mine
currently employed $50 men.
Immediately on receiving the
news, George Emery, a 45-year- -old
foreman and father of four chill
dren, went into the pit to help the
trapped men, Hours later. he had
not returned
The flames spread to two other
areas, bus these were brought under
control. &
The burning section is near an
area where two men perished in
fire two years ago. It had been
sealed until few months ago.
Earlier Roland Moyes, a Wheeling
wv, Va newspaperman, said he
had been forbidden by company
representatives to talk with rescue
workers. A press Office was set up
by the company to clear informa-
ton