Evening star., 1947-03-26
122FearedDead
In Explosion at
Illinois Mine
9 Rescued, IS Known
To Hove Perished
Others Are Trapped
BY the Associofed Press

CENTRALIA, ILL.,, Mar. 60
Amid rapidly dwindling hopes of
relatives and belief of mine off,
cials that 122 men had perished,
rescue crews struggled against
lethal fumes today for possible
survivors of mine explosion
near this Southern Illinois town.
Eighteen hours after the blast
trapped virtually a complete shift
yesterday afternoon as it was about
to leave work, rescuers, wearing gas
masks, were held back by poisonous
fumes halfway along the 3h-mile
passageway.
Soldiers from Scott Field. ILL.,,
joined State police in controlling
the throngs of relatives and sight
seers gathered at the tipple as the
squads of workmen toiled to seal
off side entries and improve ventila-
ton.
OF a total OF 131 miners trapped
by the blast, nine were brought out
alive, one was brought out dead,
and IA were counted dead by that
official at the bottom of the $40
foot shaft
That left LOT unaccounted for,
and the man who did the checking,
Chief Electrician Fred Hellmeyer,
said he had no hope of finding them
alive.
Progress Is Slow.
Other experienced mine men at
the scene shared Mr.. Hellmyers'
pessimistic view of the situation.
officials said it would take "at
least until o'clock tonight to re-
cover the last body, because I'VE
may have to work at the rate of
80 minutes for each so feet of
progress"
If none of the missing men Is
found alive, this will go into the
records as the Nations worst coal
mine disaster in nearly 10 years
since 1876 were killed at Mather, Pa,
May 10, 1928. 1t would be the worst
in Illinois since the Cherry Mine
disaster of 1909, which took 259 lives.
The explosion occurred with a
rumbling "whoosla' at about $50
pm. tCST)-just before the day
shift of 131 was about to give way
for a night crew, The night men
were standing around waiting for
their time, and for that reason there
was no shortage of rescue workers.
Governor to Fly to Scene.
Clouds of thick, milky gray smoke
curled out of the shaft Ambulances,
inhalators, doctors and nurses were
rushed from a radius of so miles
and more.
Anxious, grieving families, still
holding to thread of hope as the
chill night hours passed with only
nine of their men brought out alive,
pressed against ropes at the pit
head and watched the mercy crews
come and go.
Gov. Dwight H. Green of Illinois
decided late last night to hasten
here from Chicago and make Ger
tain that everything is being done
that can be done and to look into
the. situation personally" He called
for a plane to fly him to nearby
Salem and a car to bring him on to
the mine.
The mine is the Centralia Coal
Co.'S No. S, an old one, which has
been producing 2,1OO tons day, 1t
is in the thick of the populous vii
lage of Wamac, a southern suburb
of Centralia, beside the Illinois
Central Railroad yard and car shop.
Stunned by Tragedy.
Women, crying softly, huddled in
blankets. 4. Several collapsed. Rela-
tives stood about them and pro-
tected them from the pushing
crowd.
Catholic sisters moved among the
assembly, giving comfort wherever
they could Salvation Army and
Red Cross workers were there, too,
with coffee. doughnuts and sand
wiches.
In hospital IL exhausted miners
were too stunned by tragedy to give
a very coherent account of what
they had seen.
Some of them had been caught
underground by the explosion and
some had gone in with rescue squads
and been overcome.
August Holzhauer, who has worked
IS of his So years in the mine, told
something of the terror that struck
when coal dust and black damp,
the deadly fumes, filled the passage
ways.
"It was the only accident I was
(See MINE, Page A-4)